A new list of compulsory tests has been prepared, only the fees determined by the government can be charged for the tests
The health examination of Nepali workers going for foreign employment has been tightened. To make the health examination process more organized and transparent, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has issued a new procedure, stricting the health examination of workers.
The
procedure includes a detailed list of mandatory health tests and laboratory tests for every migrant worker. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Labor, Danduraj Ghimire, said that health tests have been tightened to eliminate the problem of false and fake medical tests.
'Many Nepalese workers have been complaining about being in trouble due to wrong reports, fake medical examinations and opaque procedures. To control this, the health check-up has been tightened," said Ghimire, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Labour, "This step of the government ensures the quality health check-up of Nepali workers going for foreign employment. The ministry has made a strong mechanism to implement it effectively.'
Based on the decision made by the meeting of the expert committee on May 23, established according to the foreign employment regulations, the procedures related to the organization, listing, renewal and monitoring of the health examination of workers going to foreign employment have been amended by the ministerial decision. According to the Ministry, the new license will be issued only after on-site monitoring of the laboratories of 215 listed health institutions according to the procedure. The ministry had already set a deadline for listed health institutions to build new standard health laboratories.
The Ministry of Labor has also expanded the list of health tests according to the standards of major destination countries Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and European countries. To prepare the list, the Ministry has based the report given by the working group led by the then Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dipendra Raman Singh.
A 30-member expert high-level task force has classified workers' health problems into 8 groups and proposed solutions. These include physical problems (musculoskeletal disorders, injuries, heat-related diseases), chemical exposure and respiratory problems (blood cancer caused by exposure to harmful chemicals, respiratory diseases), mental health (work stress, anxiety, depression, social isolation), gynecological, reproductive and sexual health problems (sexual abuse, lack of care during pregnancy, menstrual problems), infectious diseases (TB, COVID-19, sexually transmitted infections), non-communicable diseases (heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, Obesity), neurological (Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, migraine, muscle wasting disease), cardio-related diseases and diseases related to high blood pressure and diabetes are covered.
Based on this, the list of tests that workers must do includes blood tests (CBC, ESR, platelets), tuberculosis tests (chest X-ray, Mantoux test, sputum AFB), kidney function tests (serum urea, creatinine), hepatitis 'B', malaria, sugar, typhoid.
For the laborers who went to Malaysia, drug tests such as marijuana, opium, methamphetamine, and cocaine have also been made mandatory. For other countries, it is mentioned that additional tests can be done according to the doctor's recommendation. The ministry has arranged for occupational diseases (respiratory problems, skin diseases, muscle and bone problems, cancer, diabetes, heart disease etc.) to be conducted by separating the risk groups according to the workers' age and occupation.
There is an arrangement to charge only the fee determined by the government for health examination. According to the ministry, the necessary equipment, qualified manpower, information management system, quality control system and necessary document management are mandatory in every medical center that conducts tests. The
task force immediately recommended to the Ministry of Labor to make the registered health institutions, doctors and workers responsible and to ensure quality health examination, to end the wrong practice of giving medical fitness report, to digitize it, to improve the labs and to expand the scope of medical examination.
About 1,000 people die every year among the workers who go for foreign employment. The Foreign Employment Board records that 14,666 workers died in the last 14 years. Most of them died from heart attack 19, 19.5 from natural causes and 7 from workplace accidents, 12.7 from road accidents, 11 from suicide and the remaining 30.8 percent from other causes. But most of the certificates contain words like 'natural, sudden death, heart attack, unnatural'. The destination country has been taking responsibility only for workplace and vehicle accidents. As a result, most workers are deprived of compensation and insurance.
Labor Employment and Social Security Minister Sharatsingh Bhandari said that new standards have been implemented for health examinations to protect workers who have gone for foreign employment from the 'death trap'. The workers have gone to work. They did not go to any battle. They have to be protected from the 'deathtrap'. But looking at the death rate, it is worrying," he said. "After continuous study and research for the last one year, we have reached the point where we can implement the new standards."
