Kathmandu, October 2
The Nepal government has asked Malaysia to remove 25 Nepali foreign employment companies registered under Malaysia’s Foreign Worker Centralized Management System (FWCMS).
The request comes amid a dispute over Malaysia’s decision to designate 25 Nepali foreign employment companies as “principal” agencies and another 250 companies as “supporting” agencies for recruiting Nepali workers.
The 25 companies registered under the FWCMS have themselves asked the Nepal government to remove them from the system, saying they do not want to remain part of the arrangement.
Based on their request, the Ministry of Youth and Employment has sent a letter to the Malaysian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, while Nepal has asked Malaysia to remove the listed foreign employment companies from the system, Malaysia has instructed employers to recruit foreign workers only through foreign employment companies registered under the FWCMS.
Initially, Malaysia had listed only 25 of the around 1,200 licensed Nepali foreign employment companies as registered recruitment agencies under the FWCMS. After the arrangement faced opposition in Nepal, another 250 foreign employment companies were brought under the 25 companies as supporting agencies.
The Nepal government has said it does not accept the structure of 25 principal and 250 supporting foreign employment companies. Nepal’s position is that all licensed foreign employment companies have equal status under Nepali foreign employment laws and that the Nepal-Malaysia labour agreement does not provide for a principal and supporting agency arrangement.
Amid the dispute, the 25 foreign employment companies included in Malaysia’s list submitted an application to the government in the first week of September, seeking to withdraw from the FWCMS.
During an earlier discussion at the ministry, the companies had also agreed to seek their removal from the system.
Hari Bahadur Dangi, general secretary of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, said the companies wanted to withdraw because they did not accept an arrangement that would connect only a limited number of foreign employment companies with Malaysian employers.
The government has also begun an investigation into the involvement of the 25 foreign employment companies in the FWCMS.
The Department of Foreign Employment has sought details on their transactions, the basis on which they were selected, their previous involvement in recruiting workers for Malaysia and the process through which other foreign employment companies were brought under them.
The department has also asked the 25 principal foreign employment companies to submit their business and financial details for the past five fiscal years.
The information sought under Section 34 of the Foreign Employment Act 2007 includes details of transactions, the number of workers recruited, service charges, taxes and audited financial statements.
Earlier, the department had also stopped issuing new pre-approval for Malaysia-bound workers to the 250 foreign employment companies affiliated with the 25 principal companies under the FWCMS.
A decision was taken not to issue new pre-approval to those companies until the investigation is completed.
Nepal has maintained that it will not accept an arrangement under which workers are sent to Malaysia through only a limited number of foreign employment companies.
Labour Minister Ramji Yadav had also urged Malaysia’s Human Resources Minister during a telephone conversation to provide equal opportunities to all licensed foreign employment companies in Nepal in the process of sending workers to Malaysia.
The two countries had also held discussions at the prime ministerial level earlier. The Ministry of Labour said efforts were being made to resolve the dispute over the selection of foreign employment companies through high-level political and diplomatic channels.
“We are trying to resolve the complexities in Nepal-Malaysia labour relations at the highest level. We have sent through the Foreign Ministry the list of foreign employment companies that want to withdraw from the system,” said Labour Ministry spokesperson Mira Acharya.
Nepal has been maintaining that all licensed Nepali foreign employment companies should be given an opportunity to participate in the FWCMS.
Malaysia, meanwhile, has said the system is intended to streamline the recruitment of foreign workers under government oversight and control illegal fees, middlemen and fraud.
The FWCMS facilitates employer registration and the recruitment process for foreign workers in Malaysia. The system also provides for workers to be selected through recruitment agencies in source countries.
Employers in Malaysia are required to obtain prior approval from the relevant authorities before hiring foreign workers. The FWCMS has been used in this process.
Malaysia’s Labour Department has also linked the verification of demand letters for Nepali workers to the Nepal-Malaysia labour agreement.
The Nepali Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, however, said it was not aware of the letter sent by Nepal to Malaysia.
An embassy official said the letter had not been received by the embassy so far. The official said the letter may have been sent directly because discussions between the two countries are currently taking place at the prime ministerial and ministerial levels.
“Direct discussions are currently taking place at the prime ministerial and ministerial levels, so there has not been much communication through the embassy,” the official said.
Nepal had earlier also initiated diplomatic discussions with Malaysia after rejecting the arrangement involving 25 principal and 250 supporting foreign employment companies.
The dispute has continued to affect the verification of new demand letters from Malaysian employers and the recruitment process for workers bound for Malaysia.
