The government has blacklisted a number of foreign employers in countries that are major destinations for Nepali migrant workers.

The Department of Foreign Employment has blocked 65 foreign employers or companies from Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab of Emirates for violating their respective agreements with Nepali workers.

Foreign Employment Director Bhola Nath Guragain said the department put these employers on the blacklist for their unprofessional conduct and not honouring commitments they made contractually with Nepali workers.

“The blacklisted companies offered jobs to Nepalis that did not match with their agreements once they reached foreign destinations. They did not provide services and facilities promised to workers during the hiring phase,” said Guragain.

There have been many instances of employers exploiting workers and depriving them basic facilities, leaving them stranded in the foreign land.

Following such unprofessional behaviour by employing company officials, the Nepali mission in the destination countries recommended blacklisting these companies.

Recruiting agencies based in Nepal and involved in hiring Nepali workers for these foreign companies also complained about employers not taking responsibilities of workers.

With the government ban on these companies, the Nepali mission will not approve the workers demand of Nepali workers from these prohibited companies. Further, the foreign employment authority will not issue work permit to workers planning to work for these companies.

Official data shows foreign employment department has banned  52 Malaysian companies from receiving Nepali workers; five companies each from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and three companies from Qatar.

“Number of Malaysian companies barred has been higher because the flow of Nepali workers to Malaysia is high. Therefore, there are more Malaysian employers hiring Nepali workers and so is the number of those not honouring contracts,” said Guragain.

The list of the banned employers is reviewed based on their conducts in the future, Guragain concluded.