Shreejana Shrestha 

In a bid to curb fraudulent activities in foreign employment, the government has decided to seek information about people who enroll for orientation program before departing abroad online.

All institutions that provide orientations will now have to send emails with details of the candidates to the Ministry of Labor, Foreign Employment Promotion Board and the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE).

“The companies providing orientation should compulsorily send an email to the FEPB, the DoFE and the monitoring section of the Ministry of Labor by 2:00 pm a day ahead of the orientation,” reads the decision of the meeting held at the Ministry of Labor.

Tika Bhandari, acting executive director at the FEPB, says that it would be easier for the government to keep track of the companies that provide orientation when the details about the training are available online.

“After the institutions send emails to all the three departments prior to organizing the orientation, we can easily go and monitor their activities,” Bhandari said.

Authorities believe that this move will help the government to discourage the use of fake orientation certificates. Up till now, the agencies that provided orientation furnish the details of the candidates only to the DoFE.

There have been speculations that the rise in fraud cases in foreign employment is a result partly because of fake orientation certificates. Bhandari said that the government may even scrap the license of the companies that provide orientation if they are found employing unqualified trainer in the days ahead.

“The companies must also have proper audio-visual machines for training,” said Bhandari. The government has also formed a five-member committee to review the criteria for running such companies. The committee is expected to submit a report within 15 days.

Currently there are 107 such institutions that give orientation to Nepalese migrant workers before they leave the country. As per the Foreign Employment Act, 2064 and Foreign Employment Regulation, 2064, foreign employment candidates must take orientation on foreign employment laws of Nepal, and the geographical, cultural, economic, social and political status of the country they are headed.

Nepalese should also take orientation on the language, labor laws, immigration laws and the traffic rules of the host country.  Most importantly, knowledge on HIV/AIDS, communicable diseases and sexual and reproductive health is required for all people aspiring to go for foreign employment.

Published on: 23 April 2014 | Republica