Nepalese domestic workers in limbo
They can’t go home and return to UAE due to Nepal’s 2017 blanket emigration ban
Hundreds of Nepalese domestic workers in the UAE are not going back home for emergency purposes or vacation to avoid getting stuck in Nepal.
They came to the UAE legally before the Nepalese government imposed a ban last year on emigration of all domestic workers to countries that have not signed a bilateral labour agreement with Nepal.
Due to this blanket emigration ban, domestic workers who visit Nepal cannot leave the country to continue their work abroad.
A housemaid working in Dubai said she was eagerly waiting for her annual vacation since her last visit home more than two years ago, but she was in limbo now. “I was looking forward to celebrating Dussehra [a Hindu festival on October 19] with my family in Nepal. But if I go, I have to leave this job,” said S.M, 45, who has been working with an Indian family for more than five years.
She said she wants to continue working in Dubai as her employer has been treating her well.
There are hundreds of housemaids like her who are in a similar dilemma.
A senior Nepalese diplomat told Gulf News that the Nepalese government imposed the emigration ban in April 2017, which was applicable to both male and female domestic workers. “The government felt that a bilateral agreement regulating the recruitment of domestic workers will be good for both laboursending and -receiving countries. ■ That’s why the ban was imposed on the emigration to countries that have not signed such an agreement with Nepal,” said Sagar Prasad Phuyal, chargé d’affaires at the Nepalese Embassy in Abu Dhabi. He said Nepal’s negotiations on an agreement with the UAE are progressing and he was hopeful about a conclusion in the near future.
A senior UAE official told Gulf News that the UAE is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and an agreement with Nepal on the recruitment of domestic workers in the first quarter of 2019.
“We are studying the issues related to the Nepalese domestic workers and negotiations are going on with the Nepalese government,” said Dr Omar Al Nuaimi, assistant undersecretary for Communication and International Relations at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE).
He said the UAE and Nepal enjoy excellent relations and the proposed MoU and agreement will further improve the ties. “Nepalese are good workers and we appreciate them. The proposed deals will be advantageous for both parties,” said Al Nuaimi.
A Nepalese expat | Housemaid