Chandan Kumar Mandal

The process of selecting candidates for caregiver jobs in Israel is likely to begin within the next few weeks.

Nepal and Israel signed an understanding in September last year, making it possible for Nepalis to work in Israel. Following the framework agreement, the two sides also signed the Implementation Protocol in January before finalising the remaining procedure.

The preparations for sending Nepali workers to Israel are in the final stages, officials said.

The Nepali authorities have drafted a working procedure to guide the whole process of labour migration to Israel and finalised an online portal for accepting applications from aspiring candidates, said Tikamani Neupane, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Employment.

“The draft of the working procedure has been submitted to the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. The draft was prepared by the department nearly two months ago,” Neupane said. “As the minister and secretary at the ministry were changed, the draft of the working procedure is currently under deliberation at the ministry.”

Hari Prasad Mainali, joint secretary at the Labour Ministry, said the ministry was conducting deliberation of the draft.

“We are trying to finalise it at the earliest,” said Mainali, also chief of the Employment Coordination Division under the ministry.  

As per the new agreement, 500 Nepali workers, both men and women, will get to work in Israel’s nursing care sector. Thirty percent of the 500 jobs will be allocated for men, and 70 percent for women.

According to Neupane, the working procedure includes provisions on qualifications of candidates, the selection process, modules of examinations and interviews, among other criteria.

“The working procedure will essentially direct the overall process from selection of candidates to everything in between till the day they land in Israel,” he said. “The Implementation Protocol had most of these details. We are formalising them to send workers to Israel. The document will also mention how concerned agencies from both countries will cooperate and coordinate.”

Labour migration to Israel will take place under the government-to-government (G2G) modality, excluding private recruiting agencies from the overall process. Government agencies from both countries will oversee the entire process.

In Nepal, the Department of Foreign Employment will be responsible for hiring caregivers and sending them to Israel. In Israel, the Population and Immigration Authority will be the line agency.

For jobs in Israel’s nursing sector, each candidate will be required to invest Rs 90,000, a decision which has been questioned by labour rights activists.

As there will be no involvement of recruiting agencies and considering the Covid-19 pandemic, applications will be only accepted online. For this, a separate online system has also been developed.

“We have not yet gone online as there might be some changes in the working procedure. Following the suggestions from the ministry, some changes might be required with the online portal,” Neupane said. “Everything is almost ready now. In the next 10-15 days, we will be issuing notice asking candidates to submit their application for jobs in Israel.” 

Published on: 5 March 2021 | The Kathmandu Post