Kathmandu, August 20
Foreign employment companies penalised for sending Nepali workers abroad through Indian airports have been given an opportunity to seek a review of the action taken against them following discussions between the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies and the Department of Foreign Employment.
The development follows an agreement between foreign employment companies and the Ministry of Youth and Employment, after which representatives of the association held discussions with department officials, including the director general, on Tuesday.
The talks covered the penalties imposed on agencies for sending workers through Indian airports instead of using Nepali airports, delays in the department’s routine services and difficulties faced by recruitment agencies in dealing with government procedures.
The Department of Foreign Employment had taken action against Foreign employment companies in three phases, penalising 598, 39 and 124 agencies respectively. The penalties ranged from warnings to fines of up to Rs 50,000.
Following the latest discussions, the 39 and 124 agencies penalised in the most recent rounds can now submit applications seeking a review of the action.
The department has asked the concerned agencies to provide reasons why action against them should not be taken and submit applications for review.
“Those affected in the latest cases involving 39 and 124 agencies have been asked to apply for a review. Businesses have started submitting applications explaining why action should not be taken against them,” said association president Dik Bahadur Khatri.
The review process gives the affected agencies an opportunity to present their explanations before the penalties are finally implemented.
Appeal deadline for 598 agencies has expired
However, the legal deadline for appealing against the action taken against the first batch of 598 agencies has already expired.
According to Khatri, the law provides 35 days to file an appeal, and that period has already elapsed. As a result, it may be difficult to pursue the matter through the regular appeal process.
The department has already sent letters to 83 of those 598 agencies regarding discrepancies, or “mismatches”, identified in their records.
Some foreign employment companies had objected to the action, arguing that they had already submitted the required details to the department. Following further examination, the department found similar issues involving 83 agencies and informed them that no further action was being taken against them on that particular matter.
Khatri said the latest cases involving 39 and 124 agencies also appear to be linked to discrepancies in earlier records.
As a result, foreign employment businesses argue that the latest penalties should not be examined in isolation and that the underlying records from previous rounds should also be reviewed.
According to the association, examination of the records of agencies penalised in the latest rounds has revealed links with information from earlier phases. This, they argue, warrants a fresh examination of the data and the basis on which the department imposed the penalties.
Dispute to be resolved alongside policy reforms
The latest meeting was held as part of an agreement reached between foreign employment companies and the Ministry of Youth and Employment on August 17.
Under the agreement, the ministry had set a two-month deadline to address the businesses’ demands, including issues related to service fees and policy reforms. The parties had also agreed to seek solutions to disputes over penalties through discussions with the Department of Foreign Employment.
Khatri said the latest discussions with the department were positive, but the actual outcome would depend on decisions on the review applications submitted by the affected agencies.
Manpower companies have now urged the government to resolve the disputes over penalties, including the issues involving the 83 agencies and the alleged mismatches, within the two-month timeframe agreed with the ministry.
They have also called for decisions on service fees and broader policy reforms to be taken within the same period.
