Number of returnees goes down as global slowdown eases
REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, Sept 5: The number of Nepali migrant workers facing job loss due to financial crisis has slowly gone down -- an indication that the effect of global economic slowdown has gradually started to ease with major economies recording improvement in their performance.
According to Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB), the number of workers returning home due to job cut has significantly gone down in recent months. "Only 18 people returned in the month of August because of the adverse global economic situation, whereas the figure in the past used to be as high as 84 a month," said Sthaneswor Devkota, executive director, FEPB.
Officials and manpower agents have attributed this drop to the weakening effect of the ongoing financial crisis in overseas jobs.
With the latest arrival of victims of the global financial crisis, the number of returnees, however, has reached to 211 since the beginning of 2009, according to FEPB that maintains official record of returnees and provides them compensation. The board also distributed compensation of over Rs 1.8 million to the returnees so far.
"We have reports that the impact of global financial meltdown in the employer countries has gradually eased down and the number of applications for compensation for job loss too have dropped in recent weeks," Devkota told myrepublica.com.
In a bid to provide relief to Nepali workers losing jobs to financial crisis, the government and Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) had decided, in last February, to provide compensation to those laid off within a year of appointment. Both the sides are bearing compensation liability on equal basis. As per the decision, workers facing job loss within six months and a year of their appointment would get 40 percent and 25 percent of their cost respectively.
Gyanu Gaire, general secretary of NAFEA, also said the employer companies in most of the labor destinations have witnessed lesser effect of financial crisis. "They have started to provide overtime allowance to the workers and the rate of job cut is also going down," Gaire said, adding that demands for Nepali workers in major labor destinations such as Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia has gradually increased in recent days.
Meanwhile, the FEPB said the kin of 12 workers killed in Qatar ship accident two months back had not been compensated yet, as kin of only two workers have approached it for compensation. The government last month had decided to provide compensation of Rs 100,000 to the family of each worker.
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Number Of Returnees Goes Down As Global Slowdown Eases
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