Kathmandu, Ashoj 4 - The two labor agreements that would enable more Nepali workers to work in Israel's agriculture and home-based caregiving sectors have not been implemented as Nepal and Israel have failed to come to an agreement on the amount the workers are to receive as payment for recruitment and service.
According to draft arrangements sent to Nepal, agricultural laborers would pay about Rs.193,000 in agricultural labor wages to an authorized Israeli agency. If one enters into a home-based caregiving position, one would be required to pay a higher fee, of approx. 6443 shekels (Rs.325,000), in installments. These would be in addition to the cost of the airfare, medical exams, language tests, visas, insurance costs and other employment costs.
The proposed charges have been objected by Nepal as its preferred government-to-government recruitment path aims to keep migration cost as low as possible and lessen the reliance of workers on the private recruitment agencies and brokers. But Israel says the foreign workers are entitled to such services from authorized private agencies, which can charge for them. The disagreement has reportedly kept the two protocols pending for about a year, even though Israel has significant demand for foreign labor in both sectors.
Nepal has already had workers sent to Israel under an alternative institutional care program, and workers are recruited under government auspices. Applications have been received for that program for the selection of 1,464 people and 1,115 Nepalis were selected in July for that program.
Overall, the disagreement reflects a larger problem that exists in foreign employment: how much does a migrant worker need to pay just in order to find a job overseas? Charges for recruitment may be high, and can cause workers to be in debt even before they start working, making it important to ensure that the recruitment fees and charges are clear and that there are official channels of recruitment.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
