Nepal and Saudi Arabia will sign the first ever labor agreement in Saudi Arabia in the third week of January to ensure the legal rights of Nepali workers. The date for signing the agreement was set during a bilateral meeting between Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Rajendra Singh Bhandari and Saudi Arabia's Acting Ambassador to Nepal Abdulnasser bin Hussein Al Harthib on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Labor has stated that it has been decided to sign a ministerial-level agreement between the two countries on the occasion of the 'World Labor Market Conference' to be organized by Saudi Arabia on January 26-27. KP Sharma Oli's cabinet meeting had already approved the signing of the agreement between the two countries in the last Bhadra. However, after the change of government, the issue of which level to sign could not be decided, so this process did not move forward. 

In the last week of May, in Geneva, the then Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister for International Affairs Tariq Al Hamad agreed to sign a general labor agreement, leaving aside the agreement on domestic workers. The ministry has stated that additional homework will be done for the agreement on domestic workers.

Rameshwor Nepal, South Asia Director of Equidem, who has been advocating for labor rights, said that a labor agreement between the two countries is important to address issues such as the minimum wage of Nepali workers, working hours, leave, insurance, health care, and action for violation of the agreement. 

'Saudi Arabia is the main destination country for Nepali workers. The labor agreement to be concluded now should protect the legal rights of workers. The agreement should be strong in terms of bringing transparency to the recruitment process, creating a clear mechanism for resolving labor disputes, and providing special protection to female workers,' he said. 'The issue of ensuring death, accident, rescue and compensation of stranded workers should also be included in the agreement.' 

The draft agreement between the two countries has not been made public. According to the Ministry of Labor, the agreement between the two countries includes issues such as labor rights, occupational health protection, employer change, and fair recruitment of workers as per the standards of the International Labor Organization (ILO). 

There are currently four hundred thousand Nepalis working in Saudi Arabia. Most of them are in the construction and service sectors. In the last 10 years, 1,352,800 people have worked in Saudi Arabia alone. Of these, 1,110,000 are female workers. In the fiscal year 2081/82, 152,000 people went back with work permits. The latest report of the Ministry of Labor states that 684 people have died in Saudi Arabia in the last two fiscal years. 

Nepali workers working in Saudi Arabia have been facing problems including minimum wage and social security. Every day, at least 25 workers go to the Nepali Embassy in Riyadh with complaints and grievances, including non-payment of minimum wage, contract changes, and not being allowed to return home.