KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): No work permit applications for migrant labourers have been processed from Nepal since Oct 1 as Kathmandu takes legal action against the 25 companies authorised by Putrajaya to submit the recruitment paperwork.
According to a Kathmandu Post report, Nepal’s Youth, Labour and Employment Ministry had refused to allow the 25 companies to operate.
The report said health screenings of potential workers, which is a requirement for a work permit, have not been carried out since Oct 1 and that the ministry's efforts to resolve the impasse have been rebuffed by its Malaysian counterpart.
The news outlet cited an Oct 6 letter from Malaysia's Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R Ramanan that said: "Specifically, Malaysia will maintain the selection of 25 principal recruitment agencies, alongside 10 associate/supporting recruitment agencies designated for each of the 25 principal recruitment agencies.”
The Edge has contacted Ramanan for comment.
Nepal's Youth, Labour and Employment Minister Ramji Yadav has proposed dates in November and December to meet Malaysian officials to resolve the impasse.
Another report by Asia News Network said Nepal also has concerns about how workers are selected, processed and recruited under the Malaysia's Foreign Workers Centralised Management System (FWCMS).
Meanwhile, Nepalese authorities have summoned the owners of the 25 companies to present themselves for investigations or have their bank accounts frozen and face travel bans. The offices of several companies were also raided on Tuesday.
The FWCMS is a web-based platform that allows a recruitment agency to process the application of a migrant labourer seeking employment in Malaysia.
Nepal objects to Malaysia allowing only 25 companies to use the system and wants all of the country's 1,100 recruitment agencies to be also granted access.
The 25 companies are called principal agencies, and are each assigned 10 sub-agents that can also recruit workers. However, only the principal agency can process the recruitment through FWCMS.
A similar set-up is also present in the recruitment of Bangladeshi workers.