Call center established to address complaints of Nepali migrant workers

KATHMANDU, April 1:  Nepal government has opened a call center under the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security in Kathmandu on Monday, with an aim to heed the complaints of Nepali migrant workers working in various countries, according to a report by onlinekhabar.

The migrant workers can file their complaints at +97715970008 via telephone or Internet-based communications including Messenger, Viber and Imo, according to the ministry.

Malaysia and the nations of Gulf Cooperation Council have been the major destination countries for Nepali workers seeking employment abroad.

The Department of Foreign Employment has issued more than 3.5 million labor permits to migrant workers, dominantly in Malaysia, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia from 2008 to 2017.

However, many migrant workers become the victim of false documentation, illegal procurement of workers and ill-intended manpower agencies, forcing them to get exploited and get trapped abroad.

Many undocumented workers, especially women seeking domestic in the Gulf countries who use unauthorized channels despite Nepal government’s ban on such work for women below the age of 24, are exposed to the risk of exploitation, trafficking and underpaid or not paid by the employers.

More than 5000 undocumented female migrant workers have applied for the formal permits in the last three years.