Nepal mooted this idea after Israel demanded the government to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which sought direct involvement of IOM in the recruitment process of Nepali workers for Israeli jobs as a condition to reopen its job market. Foreign Employment Promotion Board (FEPB) forwarded this proposal to Israel this week.
“We can´t go for direct involvement of IOM in recruiting process, sidelining the manpower agencies as proposed by Israel. It will go against the existing Foreign Employment Act 2007. So, we have proposed the involvement of both IOM and government in the recruitment process,” Sthaneshwar Devkota, executive director of FEPB, told myrepublica.com on Saturday.
The act specifies that only manpower agencies and the government can get involved in sending Nepali workers for overseas jobs.
Devkota also said IOM and the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) will jointly study the qualification of workers and monitor the training and recruiting charges levied by foreign employment agents to ensure the skill of Nepali workers and fair selection process as demanded by Israel.
As per the proposed MoU, manpower agencies can accept applicants from jobseekers and proceed ahead with necessary documentation as well as other necessary preparation for job aspirants.
“A joint mechanism involving IOM and the MoLTM officials will strictly monitor the sending process so as to end the irregularities seen in recruiting process as indicated by Israel,” added Devkota.
The MoLTM has already requested Israeli officials to allow jobseekers who were in final preparation to leave for Israel, before it stopped granting working visas for Nepalis in April. Over 400 Nepali workers, mostly women, got their visa canceled by Israeli embassy in Kathmandu and have been stuck for more than eight months.
Expressing serious objection over alleged irregularities in the process of sending workers, including involvement of Nepali manpower agencies in levying hefty amount from jobseekers and low skill of workers, Israel had announced suspension of issuing fresh working visa followed by cancellation of already issued visas.
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