The number of foreign employment fraud cases has increased along with the rise in number of people leaving the country for jobs. The government statistics show that a total of 2,305 fraud cases have been registered at the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.

Victims have demanded compensation of Rs 935.65 million from manpower agencies and middlemen deceiving them. Amid the demand and supply of Nepali workers growing in labour destinations, cases of foreign job aspirants being cheated mainly by foreign employment agencies have increased significantly. 

DoFE records show that a total of 1,406 cases have been filed against manpower agencies in the review period with compensation demand of Rs 243.19 million. The number of case registration is up by 49 per cent compared to 943 cases filed in the same period last year seeking action against agencies and refund of expenses.

Nepalis are permitted to leave the country for foreign employment in two ways — either under ‘institutional work permit’ which requires involvement of manpower agencies or through personal contacts by receiving ‘individual work permit’ from DoFE. Officials at DoFE said that this year a majority of fraud cases were related to aspirants being cheated by foreign employment agencies with assurances of attractive jobs in Gulf nations.

The failure by the aspirants to check the authenticity of agencies, agents and documents and no proper knowledge on how to apply for foreign employment are some of the major reasons behind the rise in incidents of fraud, according to DoFE officials. This year, DoFE has filed 112 fraud cases at the court. 

Even as there is a rise in fraud cases related to agencies, this year cases related to aspirants leaving for jobs through personal contacts have come down. DoFE’s monthly progress report states that 943 cases related to job seekers leaving the country through personal channels have been filed this year with compensation demand of Rs 692.4 million. A total of 1,132 cases were filed and Rs 751.58 million compensation was demanded during the same period last year.

Published on: 23 June 2014 | The Himalayan Times