June 6: Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Krishna Kumar Shrestha has directed the concerned officials and counselors in labour destination countries to address the grievances of Nepali migrant workers.  Minister Shrestha gave such instructions during an orientation held for the newly appointed counselors for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. He said that the grievances of Nepali workers in those countries were not addressed although they visited the embassy in the respective country to file complaints.

 In addition to this, Minister Shrestha also said that the counselors should ensure the protection of the rights of the workers, rescue them in case of problems and help in resolving disputes between the employers and the workers. Moreover, Secretary at the Ministry Ek Narayan Aryal stressed on the need for counselors and labor associates to be aware of foreign laws and the issue of migrant workers.

During the orientation, experts provided training on foreign employment management systems, labor immigration, bilateral labor agreement, labor diplomacy, and laws related to foreign employment. There is a legal provision to have a labor companion to assist the workers abroad. The ministry has appointed Devendra Karki as counselor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Deen Bandhu Subedi in the UAE, as well as Jamuna Kafle in Bahrain and Krishna Poudel in Qatar.

Meanwhile, Minister Shrestha said that the social security fund needs to be restructured to increase the attraction of employers and contributors. Speaking at a discussion programme organized at the Ministry of Labor on the effective operation and management of the Social Security Fund, Minister Shrestha stressed on the need to increase the attraction of employers and workers towards the fund. He also said that the plan of the fund should be reviewed to increase the attraction of employers and contributors.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary of the Ministry Aryal said that the fund should give confidence to the employers and contributors that social security would be guaranteed. This, according to him, can be done by bringing attractive facilities and schemes. He said that new arrangements should be made for proper mobilization and investment of the money in the fund and management of the return from it. Social security expert Krishna Acharya said that the social security fund should bring attractive facilities and schemes to the employers and workers of small and medium enterprises. He suggested that the structural reforms of the fund and the mobilization and investment arrangements of the funds should also be reviewed. Stakeholders say that the contribution-based social security programme should be promoted in a way that benefits both the workers and the employers.