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| Kathmandu, Thursday February 20, 2003 Falgun 08, 2059. |
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Govt
interrogates six employment agencies
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Feb 19 : The
government is interrogating six manpower agencies on charge of issuing fake passports or
fake documents while supplying manpower abroad in the past one month.
According to the
Department of Immigration, accused manpower agencies had either changed the photo from
original passport or had presented fake labour permits while supplying workers to Malaysia
and the United Arab Emirates.
The agencies, against
which the department is preparing to file case are Brotherhood Manpower, Shikhar Manpower,
Deurali Manpower, International Manpower, Victoria Manpower and Raj Overseas Manpower.
Of the people flying to
several countries through these manpower agencies, 11 people with fake passports and one
with fake labour permit was caught in Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), four with
fake passports from Dubai International Airport and one with fake visa from Abu Dhabi.
According to the
Department, Suk Bahadur Limbu of Terhathum and Bam Bahadur Tamang of Rasuwa were flying to
Malaysia with photo-changed passports through Brotherhood manpower agency.
While Limbu was flying
with the passport of Manoj Udaya of Palpa (passport number 1695350) and Tamang was flying
with the passport of Shyam Kumar Subba of Sunsari (passport number 1617085). Limbu and
Tamang had claimed that the manpower agency had provided them with the passports at the
last moment, just before their departure.
The Department says
this is one of several such cases. "After the TIA Immigration caught those with the
fake passport, the manpower agencies were summoned for investigation," the official
had said earlier.
Meanwhile the
department has informed that these manpower agencies have conceded that they were involved
in such malpractice. "However, as the Department is yet to gather some essential
documents, the case will be filed only after some two months," the official said.
As per the existing
labour Act, if the charge on these manpower agencies is proved, each will be fined Rs
50,000 and the managing director would be imprisoned for five years. The MD of first four
agencies were under Immigration’s custody for some 22 days, and after that they were
released on bail of Rs 95,625.
In the history of ten
years of foreign employment, this is the first time that any manpower agency has been
caught in suspicion of malpractice. In the past a large number of complaints were made
against several manpower agencies stating that the people were cheated in jobs and
payments.
Currently, more than
300,000 Nepalis are working as foreign employees in the Gulf countries and Malaysia, as
per the government’s official figures. However, the unofficial estimate says that
more than 700,000 people are engaged in foreign employment.
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