Nepal and Saudi Arabia have agreed to sign a bilateral labor agreement. Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari and his Saudi counterpart Ahmed bin Salman bin Abdullahjiz Al Raji agreed to sign the draft prepared by the officials of Nepal and Saudi Arabia in a meeting held in Riyadh.

The final draft will be finalized after the completion of the legal process by both parties. Saudi has proposed to Nepal to sign an agreement related to common labor, domestic labor and skill certification program. An official who participated in the meeting told Kantipur that the draft labor agreement related to the recruitment of ordinary workers among these three was finalized.

Minister of Labor Bhandari said that he is close to signing a labor agreement with Saudi Arabia. Nepal had been doing homework for a long time. It has reached its final stage. "Both parties are ready to sign the agreement as soon as possible," he said, adding, "some technical matters remain to be completed." We will complete it soon.' 

The ministry is doing homework internally to finalize the labor agreement. The Saudi labor market seems to be improving. After receiving the responsibility of hosting the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia has to introduce itself as a country with a decent work environment. This has made resource countries like us more comfortable," Labor Minister Bhandari said. "We have some concerns about the Saudi labor market. We have put all those questions openly.

About four lakh Nepali workers are working in Saudi Arabia. It does not include domestic workers. Human traffickers are currently sending domestic workers to Saudi Arabia via Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Saudi Arabia has proposed to Labor Minister Bhandari to sign a labor agreement with domestic workers soon. "We are ready to fulfill all the conditions set by the Nepalese government regarding domestic workers," the Saudi authorities proposed in a meeting involving the labor ministers of Nepal and Saudi Arabia, "Let's sign both agreements at the same time as far as possible." . Saudi Arabia has said that it will come to Nepal to understand all those situations and discuss with all parties. Saudi has about 32 occupations under domestic workers. These range from personal pilots to in-house workers. The largest number of men from Nepal are employed as domestic workers, including drivers, security guards (nathur), agricultural labourers, cooks and gardeners.

"More study and discussion about domestic workers is necessary," Labor Minister Bhandari said. Saudi Arabia has said that it wants skilled workers and wants to help them. For that, Saudi has a plan to produce skilled manpower in Nepal with its own investment and bring it to Saudi after verifying it. "Production of skilled manpower is suitable for Nepal," he said.

has raised the issue of cost charge in the contract with the recruitment of ordinary workers, end of double contract, guarantee of minimum wage and speedy repatriation of dead bodies. 95 percent of the workers going to Saudi Arabia have to bear the entire cost. At the time of verifying the demand letter, the Saudi employer has hired ordinary unskilled workers on the condition of paying a minimum salary of 1000 riyals excluding food. But after going to Saudi, they did not give a minimum salary of 1000 riyals. 

"Now the biggest challenge for us is to implement the minimum salary determined by Nepal," said an official of the Nepali Embassy in Riyadh, "We are saying that Saudi Arabia should determine the salary itself." If it is difficult for Saudis, we are saying that the employer should look at the contract with the workers and issue the visa during recruitment.' 

At least 25 workers go to the embassy every day with complaints of not being paid the minimum wage, change of contract and not being allowed to repatriate. After becoming a member of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Saudi Arabia is under pressure to improve the welfare and safety of migrant workers. On January 8, the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced a national policy for the elimination of forced labor to ensure a safe and decent work environment. 

Being the first country in the Gulf region to ratify the ILO's 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labor Convention, Saudi Arabia has introduced a national policy to eliminate forced labor to create a safe and attractive labor market that protects the rights of all workers.

"It is the first Arab country to bring a national policy in accordance with international standards to eliminate forced labor," the statement issued by the Ministry of Human Resources on January 9 said, "The national policy will try to eliminate forced labor through measures to prevent and protect forced labor." A comprehensive approach has been adopted to provide protection for victims. Increase access to care, support and justice for workers. It will provide legal, social and financial support to the victims of forced labor.