Bid for amplifying employment opportunities gathers pace

Kathmandu / Feb 6: The government which has vowed to end forceful foreign employment within five years is in its final bid to announce the ‘Prime Minister Employment Programme’.

The government is engaging its efforts to adequately provide employment opportunities to jobless youths in domestic labour market.

According to Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli would announce the ‘Prime Minister Employment Programme’ on coming February 13.

It may be noted that the government’s policy, programme and budget of the current fiscal 2018/19 has come up with the plan to offer employment opportunities in the public development works.

The Right to Employment Act-2075 has guaranteed minimum 100 days annual employment to unemployed youths listed in the employment service centre. The Act has envisaged the setup of the employment service centre in each local level which will identify and enlist the unemployed people.

It is provisioned that the Government of Nepal would provide 50 percent of minimum wages a labourer is entitled to get while working for 100 days to each unemployed household as livelihood allowance given the government fails to offer minimum employment to the jobless.

The government is preparing to create additional internal job opportunities in an integrated manner through coordination and collaboration in public construction and works including commercial farming, irrigation, drinking water, river control, forest, tourism and transport infrastructure.

Prakash Dahal, programme coordinator, said the employment promotion programme is to be implemented in a coordinated and planned way to create more job opportunities in public construction and works at federal, provincial and local government levels.

According to the programme, more job opportunities would be created in coordination and collaboration with private, cooperative and non-government sectors.

Entrepreneurship development training opportunities followed by subsidized loan assistance would also be provided for promoting self-employability. In order to develop a culture to respect work, a nationwide awareness-raising campaign ‘Respect Labour, Nation’s Campaign’ would be conducted.

Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista has intensified inter-consultation discussions for the effective implementation of the programme.

He has started consultations with youth entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and youth organizations of the political parties.

Earlier, the government has set up the employment service centre in each local level as a local nodal agency to implement the employment programme. RSS