Labour Ministry expresses concern over Ambassador Paudel’s ‘manpower business’

KATHMANDU : The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has expressed its concern after the Nepali Ambassador to Malaysia Dilli Raj Paudel was found taking money from the manpower companies to certify the workers’ demand letters.

The Ministry intensified the investigation after it received complaints stating that Ambassador Paudel has been taking money from the manpower companies to certify workers’ demand letters.

Through the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security had asked for a response from Ambassador Paudel last week. This means a kind of explanation.

On the basis of the letter provided by the Labour Ministry, the Foreign Ministry has started taking action against Ambassador Paudel, a source said.

In the letter sent by the Labour Ministry to the Foreign Ministry on August 3, the embassy, citing the letter of the Nepal Foreign Employment Association, has been asked to provide a reason for the delay in not certifying the applications submitted by Malaysia under the employer pay policy after completing the entire process in accordance with the prevailing law two months ago.

Based on the application filed by Paramount Employment Consultants Pvt. Ltd., the Nepal Foreign Employment Association had written to Kewal Bhandari, Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, asking him to urge the Nepali Embassy in Malaysia to verify the workers’ demand letters.

After the Nepali Embassy in Malaysia has been expressing its reluctance to certify the workers’ demand letters, the employers have started looking for workers from elsewhere, the Association Chairman Rajendra Bhandari said.

He warned that Nepal will lose jobs if this continues.

The undersecretary and officer level employees have been deployed to facilitate the workers and to verify the workers’ demand letters in Malaysia, one of the most popular labour destinations for Nepalis.

The labour permit will be approved through manpower after the staffers verified the letters of demand for workers made by respective employers and sent it to Nepal.

It has been said that Ambassador Paudel has also been taking the rights of authentication by sidelining the government staffers.

Bhola Guragain has been assigned to verify the workers’ demand letters. But he has got the rights to certify the letter.

Manpower businessmen have said that the workers’ demand letters are being verified only after paying some amount to the Ambassador.

“The Ambassador has connections with the people of some manpower companies. It has been said that he demands workers from them and takes commission,” a source at the Embassy said.

The Embassy has to certify the demand letters after it provides the receipt for the amount paid to attest it.

But the Embassy has not verified the letters though it has taken money for the purpose on May 23.

Ambassador Poudel was embroiled in controversy after he misused former prime minister and CPN (Unified Socialist) Chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal, who had left Kathmandu for Indonesia, to promote his business by convincing him to land in Malaysia.