Proposal to include Nepalis in the 'Labor Immigration System' for Indian employment

The proposed draft submitted to Labor, Employment and Social Security Minister Sharatsingh Bhandari by the working group under the leadership of Ganesh Gurung mentions that 'Nepali workers going to/returning to work in India will be included in the labor immigration system to keep data through employment service centers at the local level and gradually provide identity cards'.

This draft has proposed to 'create a suitable model like the existing foreign employment welfare fund and gradually integrate Nepali workers going to India'.

According to the National Census-2078, 21 lakh 90 thousand 592 people (82 percent men and 18 percent women) have gone outside the country . Out of which, about 37 percent are in Gulf countries and 34 percent are in India. According to the latest National Labor Survey, about 969,000 Nepali workers are working in India.

The Foreign Employment Act-2064 and the Foreign Employment Policy-068, which were introduced to allow Nepali workers to work abroad in a systematic manner, have not addressed the issue of employment in India. Baraka Tuknath Sharma, who has been working as a watchman in Madras for almost a decade in Qatar, said that security has not been guaranteed by the state in India. "When going to Qatar, the state took responsibility for security. Insurance is available. He said, "If you go to India, the state will not look at anything." According to Keshav Basyal, Nepalis working in India are being victims of status quo.

The then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal had announced on January 11, 2073 that insurance facilities would be provided to all adult citizens going to India. For this, a study team including representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Labor submitted a report with procedures. That report has not been made public. Before that, on 12th June 2071, the Foreign Employment Board had decided to form an expert team to study the employment situation in India.

Similarly, a task force led by Krishnahari Pushkar, the then director general of the labor department, formed in January 2070 to organize the work of the foreign employment department, was suggested to organize India-centered movement and Indian employment . These announcements and suggestions have not yet been implemented.

According to Vasyal, who is also a member of the working group of the proposed Labor Immigration Policy-2081, one can easily enter India personally through countless Indian border crossings with Nepal.

'According to the 1950 treaty between Nepal and India, there is no restriction on Nepalese working/living in India. According to that arrangement, the rights of Nepali immigrants will be the same as Indian citizens. On the basis of that treaty, the Nepali diplomatic mission will regulate and monitor, request compliance with the treaty, and if not, it can (should) be filed in the Supreme Court of India," he said. Indian labor affairs expert Prakashchandra Madai says that if the policy in the proposed draft is implemented, it will address the safety of Nepalis working in India.

'The main destination of Nepalese workers in the Far West are forced to live a difficult life in India. How many workers are there in India? How many disappeared? "How many people lost their lives and how many people were trafficked is not accounted to anyone," he told Kantipur. There is a problem in sending money from all parts of India to Nepal. Looking for sources to send even a small amount of money . 500 and 1000 notes are not in circulation. No more than 25,000 cash can be brought into the border . It is looting . The workers who died have not received compensation.'

According to migrant organizations active in India, there are three types of Nepali jobs in India. First - wage laborers and janitors are included. Domestic workers, janitors and workers in the informal sector who work on daily wages are the most . Second - the middle class who have taken the ration card and have property in both Nepal and India.

The third is the formal employment in India's government and large industrial factories. An informal survey has shown that 80 percent of Nepali workers in India are engaged in low-income wage labour, dhabas, restaurants and liquor contract canteens, domestic workers and janitorial services. About 10 percent are in formal employment . 7 percent have property in both Nepal and India.

The Ministry of Social Development of the Far West and the Ministry of Home Affairs and Law have set up help desks at Kanchanpur's Gadda Chowki, Kailali Tirinagar and Khakraula checkpoints to address those going to India. Due to the lack of manpower and the lack of development of a system for keeping data, it has not been effective. Patan Municipality of Baitaidi has started providing periodic insurance in collaboration with a cooperative. For the foreign employment (term) insurance policy that came into effect on January 15, 2073, there is a provision that the insurance period will be for a period of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 years respectively. As there is more seasonal migration to India, the question of how insurance can be applied to the workers who go there has also been raised. "Nepalese who enter India in thousands every day have different purposes. The number of Nepalis who come here with one purpose and do another job is very large. The people who are close to the border of the two countries have the closest relationship and routine. How can we monitor and regulate the activities of going back and forth on a daily basis,'' he said. Many such things are causing difficulty in knowing the actual number and condition of Nepali workers.

Swarna Kumar Jha, a researcher on labor affairs, says that it is challenging to explain to Nepali workers who go to work in India that India is also a foreign country.

'Since there is an open border with India and ease of free movement, it cannot be concluded that Nepalis are crossing the border and going to India for work. And due to centuries-old ties between Nepal and India and the linguistic and cultural similarity and homogeneity between the citizens living in the border areas of both countries, it is also difficult to identify which country's citizens are entering through the border," he says.