Qatar has emerged as the top hirer of Nepali migrant workers as it intensifies infrastructure development for the 2022 Soccer World Cup.
According to the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), hiring by Qatar jumped 125 percent in the first quarter. A total of 36,385 workers left for Qatar during the first three months of 2011-12 against 16,136 in the same period last year.
Government officials and foreign employment agencies have attributed the surge in worker departures to Qatar to increased hiring in the construction sector and a decline in the fees to be paid by job seekers.
“Qatar has become the largest labour market with demand for construction workers including security guards and secretarial workers going up with a focus on infrastructure development targeting the 2022 FIFA World Cup,” said Som Lal Bataju, president of the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).
According to Bataju, the maximum pre-departure costs for Qatar have also dropped from Rs 70,000 per person last year to Rs 35,000. Most of the Qatari firms hiring Nepali workers are providing free visa, free air ticket and a good salary compared to other countries. The Ministry of Labour and Transport Management has directed recruiting agencies not to send workers for a monthly salary of less than US$ 125 and also set the maximum costs to be born by workers at Rs 70,000 for Gulf countries.
The NAFEA said that demand from Qatar would increase further in the days to come as it would need more workers for mega infrastructure projects like stadiums, railway networks, hotels and road construction.
The hiring trend shows that Qatar had started to absorb more workers since February 2011, especially in the construction sector which is known as dirty, difficult and dangerous.
]According to an International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) report, Qatar will need up to 1 million additional workers to build 12 stadiums, 70,000 new hotel rooms and road and railway links planned for the Soccer World Cup. The country is expected to see a huge growth in the migrant population during the run-up to the football extravaganza with infrastructure investments expected to top US$ 100 billion.
Of the total number of workers leaving for Qatar, 7,485 left through foreign employment agencies and 28,900 through personal links. The number of workers leaving for Qatar through personal links includes those returning to work after finishing their vacation in Nepal.
With Qatar becoming the largest labour destination for Nepali workers, Malaysia has been pushed down to second place. According to the DoFE, Malaysia took in 23,503 Nepali workers in Q1, down 29.29 percent.
Except for Malaysia, hiring by major countries has gone up significantly in the review period. Saudi Arabia took in 22,393 workers, up 47.81 percent from 15,149 in the same period last year. (Source:ekantipur)
The first month of the fiscal year saw 45,390 Nepali migrant workers heading off to foreign labour destinations. There were 225 more departures than last year. According to the data of the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) for the pe ...
Malaysia topped in Nepali labour destination in Mangsir month (from mid-November to mid-December), hiring 7,646 blue-collar job aspirants, the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) data showed. The number is the highest since last January, ...
The government and Nepali foreign employment agencies are trying to secure jobs for Nepali migrant workers in Australia and Canada in a move to diversify labour destinations dominated by the Gulf. Though the government has opened 107 count ...
The decision is expected to provide cushion to those bearing the brunt of high living cost. KATHMANDU, Jan 14: The government is all set to jack up minimum remuneration of Nepalis working in Qatar by 400 Qatari Riyal (QAR) keeping in view ...
Political instability and lack of job opportunities are prompting more Nepali youths to opt for foreign employment. In the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, about half-a-million Nepali youths left the country for overseas jobs. A ...
The number of workers going abroad for employment in the seventh month of the current fiscal year has increased as compared to the same month in the last fiscal year. According to Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE), till the seventh m ...
Foreign employment agencies have been lobbying with Samsung Malaysia to hire Nepali workers. Currently, 15 Nepali female workers are working in Samsung Malaysia's Young Green Division, and the agencies are trying to get demand from the assemb ...
Machine Readable Passport (MRP) will be costlier for migrant workers as the passport distribution system is centralised in the Capital. The centralised distribution will cost an additional Rs 8‚000 for a Nepali‚ seeking overseas jobs. Nepali ...
Almost half of Nepali households have at least one member working abroad or have a returnee, according to a survey. The Nepal Migration Survey carried out by the World Bank in 2009 on 3,200 households shows that around 77 percent of the re ...
The Nepali government has urged Saudi Arabia to establish a world-class vocational training institute to facilitate foreign employment in the country. Saudi Arabia is one of the preferred job destinations for unskilled and semi-skilled Nepali ...
Are university graduates migrating from the country to work as farm workers in foreign lands? Surprising though, the answer is, yes. “Around 70 per cent of the 2,200 applications that came in response to a job opening advertisement for 28 ...
Airfares have gone up as travel demand continues to grow despite the end of the festival season in Nepal. According to travel agencies, the large number of migrant Nepali workers returning to their jobs abroad has encouraged airlines to raise ...
Japan is putting Nepal, Bangladesh and Mongolia in its prioritized source destinations in a bid to gradually lessen the dependence on Chinese workers as industrial trainees and interns in Japanese enterprises, a senior Japanese official said ...
International airlines connecting Nepal have hiked airfares prompted by mounting fuel costs and strong demand. According to travel agents, foreign carriers serving the Middle East, Malaysia and Indian cities have jacked up ticket prices due t ...
Nepal Telecom (NT) established its Multi Service Point of Presence (PoP) in Doha from today, the company said. Qatar Telecom (Qtel) had signed an agreement with Nepal Telecom to establish and manage a Multi Service Point of Presence (PoP) ...
Tablet PC Prices in Nepal
Mobile Phone Prices in Nepal
LCD LED TV Prices in Nepal
Laptops Prices in Nepal
Bikes Prices in Nepal
New Loadshedding Timetable
List of Commercial Banks in Nepal