Foreign Employment and its Impact on Nepalese Economy

1
Foreign Employment and its Impact on Nepalese
Economy

• Purushottam OjhaOfficiating SecretaryMinistry
  of Labor and Transport Management

2
Some Demographics Figures

• More than 1 billion young people aged between 15
  and 24 in the world, comprises of 18 of the
  global population (85 youth live in the
  developing world)
• Approximately a quarter (238 million) of the
  worlds youth population was living in extreme
  poverty
• In 2003, about 618 million young people were
  either working or looking for work, which
  represents nearly 55 percent of the total youth
  population.
• In 2015, an estimated 660 million young people
  will be either working or looking for work an
  increase of 7.5 percent over the number of young
  people in the labor force in2003
• In Nepal, the number of young people (between the
  age group of 15 to 39) comprises of 39 or
  90,94,283 numbers (census of 2001)

3
History of Job Migration

• Ancient Period (Lichhabi Period)
• British Gurkha Period (1816)
• Modern Period (1947 onwards)
• Introduction of Approval System for Foreign
  Employment (1985 onward)

4
Number of Migrant Workers and Remittances
FY Migrant Worker Remittance (in million NPR)
2000-01 55025 47216
2001-02 104739 47536
2002-03 105055 54203
2003-04 106660 58587
2004-05 137678 592270
Dept of Labor and Employment Promotion /
Source NRB / Eleven Month Figure
5
Foreign Employment and Nepalese Economy

• poorest households
• income from remittance has prevented loss of
  existing assets.
• slightly better off households
• improvement in supplies of food, education and
  access to medical treatment
• more better off households
• remittances have been used to purchase lands in
  the urban areas, to start small business and to
  provide quality education to the family members

CONTD
6
Foreign Employment and Nepalese Economy (CONTD)

• NLSS-1995/96 shows the head count poverty rate at
  42 while the NLSS-2003/04 shows the figure of
  31
• Benefits
• returnees are the trained and skilled manpower
  and able to contribute to the country
• a more aware and disciplined human resources to
  the service of society
• opportunity for cross cultural assimilation.
• Re-ploughing of earnings of the migrant workers
  would help generate the employment.

7
Government Policy

• National Labor Policy 2056
• Foreign Employment Act 2042
• Foreign Employment Regulation 2056
• National Plan of Action on Decent Work (NPADW)
• Provisions of Tenth Plan
• The 21 point program of HMGN

8
Private-Public Cooperation

• Pre-employment Stage
• Pre-departure Stage
• At Work
• Reintegration Stage

9
Issues and Challenges

• High dispatch cost
• Predominance of unskilled workers in the labor
  market
• Sensitivity of sending women workers
• Informal or illegal migration
• Lack of monitoring of the situation of the
  migrant workers
• Reintegration of the returnee workers

10
The Way Forward

• Develop and implement HRD program
• Bring out a comprehensive Labor Migration Policy
• Develop proper institutional set up (board)
• Pre-employment interventions
• Develop transparent selection process/ minimize
  the role of middlemen
• Liberalize the foreign employment regimes through
  improvement in relevant laws
• Provide protection at work and carry out periodic
  monitoring
• Welfare fund and family support program
• Focus on capacity building

11
THANK YOU