Added At:  2011-01-06 10:59 PM    Last Updated At: 2011-01-06 10:59 PM 

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Nepal is soon going to sign a new labour contract with Malaysia to facilitate Nepali migrant workers in the host country. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding labour contract is ready and will be signed after the Malaysian government formally endorsed it, said Minister for Labour and Transport Management Mohamed Aftab Alam.

Malaysian Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S Subramaniam has assured to sign the MoU in a couple of months, he said. “We will sign a new MoU instead of renewing the old one,” he said. Alam has proposed his Malaysian counterpart to sign the labour contract in Kathmandu.

Nepal-Malaysia had signed its first labour contract in August 2003, but it was never renewed. Outsourcing agencies and labour experts have been building pressure on the government to renew labour contract with the most-preferred destination for Nepali migrant workers. Currently, over 400,000 Nepalis are working in manufacturing, construction and other sectors in Malaysia.

According to Alam, Malaysia has also assured to start new hiring of security guards from next month. They are ready to review 2009-10 decision on security guards, he said. Malaysia had closed the security-guard sector for Nepali workers to promote locals. Around 15,000 Nepalis were in security jobs at the time.

Currently, Malaysia has large demands for security guards, following the government decision to deploy private security in schools and colleges. Malaysia needs at least 12,000 security guards for the security of educational institutions and Nepal can benefit from it.

Security guard is a lucrative job in Malaysia with a minimum salary of Malaysian Ringgits 1,400 ($ 456.21) which is two and half times more than average earning of Nepali workers at $ 175. But Nepalis employed in the sector are not getting the standard salary due to cheating from outsourcing agencies and lack of training and experience. 

Source : thehimalayantimes.com