Om Astha Rai

Even as Nepali workers who returned from war-torn Libya increasingly mount pressure on manpower agencies for compensation, a taskforce constituted to decide on whether they deserve it hasn´t made any headway yet.
The taskforce headed by Chandra Man Shrestha, Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), has not held even a single meeting as of Tuesday.

"We have repeatedly asked the head of the taskforce to call a meeting immediately," Som Lal Bataju, President of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), said. "But our requests have fallen on deaf ears. We may not be able to hold up against the wrath of Libya returnees if the taskforce dilly-dallies in making a decision."

On Sunday, over 200 Libya returnees tried to padlock the office of SOS Manpower Agencies leading to a clash with police. The police had to resort to baton-charging to disperse agitating workers.

"We fear that some hooligans may instigate Libya returnees to vandalize our properties as they did in 2004," Kumud Khanal, General Secretary of the NAFEA, said. "The government should not take this issue lightly. The victims must be compensated."

A total of 1869 Nepali workers who were rescued from Libya one month ago after deadly civil unrest that rippled through the Middle East countries, have been agitating for compensation.

While the government has already decided to provide the workers who lost their manual passports with new machine-readable passports free of cost and help them get their Libyan currencies exchanged, the taskforce is yet to decide if they are entitled to any compensation as per the Foreign Employment Act-2007.

Manpower agencies have proposed that the government provide compensation to some 300 workers who had to return only six months after going to the country, and are now under pressure to pay back loans they took from local moneylenders. "They truly deserve compensation," Bataju said. "We have also asked the government to provide relief-money to other workers as well."

Manpower agencies say that the government should provide compensation to Libya returnees from the Foreign Employment Welfare Fund that receives money as donation from each worker before they fly overseas.

"The fund is meant for their welfare after all," Bataju said, adding, "We, too, are ready to partially contribute money for the compensation."
According to DG Shrestha, he could not call the taskforce´s meeting as he is awaiting fresh instructions from Labor Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi.

"The minister had instructed me to call the meeting only after he has tabled a proposal for compensation for Libya returnees in the cabinet meeting," Shrestha told Republica. "I have not received a word from him."