Government Urged to Establish ‘Shelter Houses’ to Rescue Stranded Nepali Workers

Kathmandu / Aug. 16: The Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) has urged the Nepal government to establish shelter houses in countries with large populations of Nepali workers to provide immediate rescue and safe accommodation to workers facing difficulties abroad.

The demand was made during a session on “Safe Foreign Employment and Reintegration” held as part of the NRNA Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, which has been underway in Guangzhou, China, since Saturday.

Participants said the lack of safe places to accommodate workers in distress has also created difficulties for NRNA representatives involved in rescue efforts. They therefore called for the establishment of shelter houses in major destination countries.

The participants also called for stronger measures to make foreign employment safe, systematic, dignified and rights-based. They stressed the need to protect Nepali workers in West Asia and other Asian countries from fraud, human trafficking, exploitation and unsafe migration.

They urged the government to operate information, legal assistance and protection programmes and establish shelters, hospitals and vocational training centres in major labour destination countries, including Malaysia. They also called for effective utilisation of the Foreign Employment Relief Fund.

The participants further urged the government to assign NRNA National Coordination Council (NCC) presidents, where necessary, responsibilities equivalent to honorary consuls or labour representatives; promote the reintegration and entrepreneurship of returnee migrant workers; expand digital services at Nepali embassies and missions; and make the establishment of workers’ accommodation facilities mandatory at embassies in major labour destination countries.

Session chair and NRNA Vice President Khagendra Neupane said the government itself should establish shelter houses in countries with large numbers of Nepali workers.

He said that when Nepali workers encounter problems abroad, the absence of immediate safe accommodation forces NRNA representatives to make arrangements on their own initiative, sometimes exposing them to legal and other difficulties.

Neupane also stressed that Nepali workers should be provided with skills training before being sent abroad. He proposed establishing skill academies or skills-testing centres through collaboration between the government and NRNA.

He said NRNA representatives have been providing immediate assistance whenever Nepalis face problems abroad, but the lack of formal legal recognition creates difficulties. He urged the government to recognise NRNA representatives as honorary labour representatives.

NRNA President Dr Hem Raj Sharma said more work needed to be done in the area of foreign employment and called for broader discussions on the issue. He said a comprehensive conference on foreign employment would be organised in Nepal within the next few months.

Member of the House of Representatives and former Communications Minister Jagadish Kharel praised Nepalis living abroad for working to resolve the problems of fellow Nepalis in a manner similar to ambassadors.

He said that although the position of honorary consul might appear insignificant, it could play an important role in resolving the problems faced by Nepali workers. He pledged to raise relevant issues with the government.

Kharel said the government and the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) were closely aware of the problems faced by Nepalis living abroad and would work towards resolving them. He also stressed the need for cooperation among all stakeholders to develop the skills of workers seeking foreign employment.

Member of the House of Representatives Ain Mahar said foreign employment should be made systematic, safe and dignified. He stressed the need to prioritise skills development to end Nepal’s image as merely a country that sends unskilled workers abroad.

Krishu Chhetri, Deputy Head of the Diaspora Coordination Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Nepalis abroad tend to turn to NRNA after approaching Nepali embassies and diplomatic missions.

Although the government has not formally recognised NRNA in this capacity, she praised the organisation for effectively performing the role of a labour representative in practice.

NRNA Vice President Juna Gurung provided information on ongoing initiatives related to the mental health of Nepali migrant workers and programmes planned for the coming days.

The conference discussed safe foreign employment, a skilled workforce, problems faced by Nepali workers in different countries, possible solutions, and the reintegration of returnee workers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Participants stressed the need for collaboration among the government, private sector and NRNA to produce and send not only unskilled workers but also skilled human resources abroad.