Kathmandu, March 18
Labour Minister Gokarna Bista has announced a slew of reforms within hours of taking charge of his ministry.
The UML leader has directed officials to hear foreign employment-related grievances everyday and to make arrangement for the members of the public to apply for work permits from near their homes.
The announcement comes as Nepal’s Department of Labour has been saying it can only conduct formal hearing of such grievances once a week. “The hearings will now be conducted daily. We cannot keep a victim waiting for a week,” said Minister Bista. According to government figures, around 15-20 people come to the department daily with foreign employment-related complaints. However, such cases would be heard only on Wednesdays.
Similarly, the minister has directed officials to establish two centres in the Terai for prospective foreign employment seekers to get their permits issued. Minister Bista said that job seekers do not unnecessarily need to come to Kathmandu even for ‘small’ work.
