Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee Report

Introduction of the Project
Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee (PNCC) is a returnee migrant led and run organization. It provides various services to migrant workers in need including rescue, repatriation. They had started compiling their (service) data from 2012 and started doing it in a more organized way since 2018. They wanted to turn this into a research report and hence contracted us to write this report for them. From 2018-2022, there were 11,616 worker cases with PNCC. Equidem reviewed each one of them for the report.

• Of the total cases recorded with PNCC, 8.60% or 998 of them were victims of human trafficking. 668 of these workers were recruited by licensed agencies.
• 11.87% of the recorded cases are related to detention or imprisonment. Workers being detained/imprisoned for not having valid labour approval, work visa, ID, changing employer, etc.
• 16.74% cases had one or more indicators of forced labour.
• 13.58% cases were death cases. In majority of cases, the cause of death was not known to the family members. In 33.14% of the death cases, the cause of death was not revealed.
• In 22.05% of the death cases, family members did not get any compensation.

Worker Testimony

“I had a huge debt on my back – family loan and the recruitment fee I had to pay to the agency. I was forced to sign whatever agreement they gave me. If I did not have that debt, I would have returned even by buying my own ticket.” - Urmila Tamang who paid 65,000 Nepalese Rupees to cover her illegal recruitment fee to work in Malaysia. She took out a loan with a 36% interest rate

Radhika Yakkha, a worker in Qatar told PNCC that a group of seven women who were recruited to work as a cleaner were instead forced to work as a domestic worker in Qatar. Although they had a contract of 1,000 rials, they were not paid, and the employer only gave 200 rials as food allowance for more than 4 months.

“I had thought I would go abroad and earn money. Now I am knee deep in debt. How will I pay this loan? I cannot think clearly nowadays.” - Sanjib Lohara who took a loan of 100,000 Nepalese Rupees with an interet rate of 36% to pay an illegal recruitment fee

Sarad, a worker in Qatar told PNCC that he and three of his friends paid 150,000 Nepalese rupees to an agency in 2018. They were promised a job with a salary of 900 Qatari rials. After reaching Qatar, the employer forced them to sign a different contract with a salary of 700 rials.

Key Findings

1. Workers are paying up to 450,000 rupees in illegal recruitment fees even though both countries of destination as well as origin have laws in place to curb charging migrant workers with recruitment fee.
2. Workers are taking loans in high interest rate, usually 36% which has led them to be in a situation of debt bondage. One of the respondents interviewed said he took a loan at 60% interest rate.
3. Majority of the cases recorded related to deception - either in nature of work, salary, non-payment, food/food allowance, accommodation and other terms and conditions of the contract.
4. Although the Nepalese law requires workers to go for foreign employment using native airport, only after taking labour approvals, agencies in Nepal are sending workers through irregular channels including in visit visas. This has left already vulnerable group even more susceptible to abuse.
5. Workers migrating on a visit visa are at a risk of being exploited - not getting work, proper pay, difficulties to get accommodation. Additionally, these workers are also exempted from available supports from state machineries (in case of Nepal)
6. Workers are in a situation where agents neither returned their money/passport back nor do they sent them to work as promised.
7. There are many cases which are clearly cases of human trafficking according to definition provided by international law as well as local laws in Nepal. Of the total cases recorded with PNCC, 8.60% or 998 of them were victims of human trafficking. 668 of these workers were recruited by licensed agencies.
8. We have pre-departure orientation programs, and it is within the mandate of Foreign Employment Board to disseminate information about safe migration, government is also running Safe Migration program at local level. Despite all these, workers and their families are not aware of measures of safe migration, complaints mechanisms etc.
9. Workers are not provided work and, in some cases, even left stranded in CoD. Workers in supply companies are not getting full time work.
10. Some employers are not providing work to workers as a form of retaliation for complaining against them.
11. For workers who are being recruited as a driver, their job is contingent on the fact that they need to pass their driver’s license. If they do not pass their trial, they are sent back home, or asked to give retrial. This poses a huge financial burden on workers.
12. Generally, workers are paid only if they work, even if it is the employer who has failed to provide work. Even then, employers do not allow workers to return back easily, many have to pay their own ticket.
13. There are cases of workers who were terminated without prior notice, their ID and Visas revoked leaving them vulnerable to arrest and deportation.
14. Employers are also not paying workers their end of benefit either in full or partially after their contract has ended.
15. Workers are not able to change employers or return back to their home. Workers who want to change their employers are falsely charged or threatened to charge with ‘haroob’ charges.
16. Workers are facing abuses like deportation, detention, verbal and physical abuse from employer
17. 11.87% of the recorded cases are related to detention or imprisonment. Workers being detained/imprisoned for not having valid labour approval, work visa, ID, changing employer, etc.
18. 16.74% cases had one or more indicators of forced labour.
19. Recorded cases include instances where workers were denied medical treatment after getting injured during work, salary deducted for medical treatment, denied to return back home etc. In some cases, employers forced workers to return back home without proper compensation instead of getting them treatment.
20. Workers are facing challenges in getting compensation from agencies and employer after being deceived abroad. Similarly, there are various challenges in getting compensation for death and accident as well.
21. 5.5% of the cases are related to female migrants. One of the resaons female migrants are facing challenges is due to the discriminatory and restricting policy of Nepal government. They are forced to use irregular channels due to bans imposed by government for female migrants.
22. Irregular or undocumented migrants are at risk due to their status. They are at risk of being deported, detained, having to pay fines, forced labour etc. They also face not included in in rescue, repatriation and compensations provided by the government.