Final stages of labour agreement preparation with Oman

Kathmandu, October 21 — The Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security is preparing to renew the labour agreements previously made with Malaysia and South Korea, and is also preparing to establish a labour agreement with Oman for the first time.

Approximately 25,000 Nepali workers are currently employed in Oman, and the government is set to sign a labour agreement for the first time. Kabiraj Uprety, the ministry's assistant spokesperson and information officer, provided this information.

Nepal first signed a bilateral labour agreement (BLA) with Qatar in 2008. Agreements were signed with South Korea in 2007 and with Malaysia in 2018 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

In addition to these countries, the ministry has also indicated that work is underway to establish labour agreements with Turkey, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, Spain, and Brunei. Nepal signed a labour agreement with Romania on October 5, 2023. Labour Minister Sharat Singh Bhandari signed this agreement 55 years after establishing diplomatic relations with Romania. Subsequently, on October 6, Minister Bhandari signed a Joint Declaration on skilled labour migration and knowledge exchange with Germany.

Minister Bhandari has stated that during his first 100 days, he has advanced the process of bilateral labour agreements with three countries. In a progress report submitted to the Prime Minister's Office, Minister Bhandari mentioned the subject of these agreements.

He has noted the progress in renewing bilateral labour agreements with South Korea (EPS) and Malaysia, as well as in establishing a bilateral labour agreement with Oman.

Nepal is also advancing the process to renew the labour agreement with Qatar, and a draft of the agreement has reached Qatar's Ministry of Labour.

Final preparations for labor agreement with Oman

Final preparations are underway for the bilateral labour agreement with Oman. High-level discussions have taken place in Nepal, and preliminary agreements have already been reached.

The draft agreement has been sent to Oman, and the Omani government will complete the legal process before sending it back to Nepal. Once approved by the Omani Cabinet, the draft will be forwarded to Nepal for signing, as stated by Assistant Spokesperson Uprety.

He stated that both sides are preparing to finalize the legal process. “We are also moving forward with the legal process on our side. Oman is preparing to send it to the Cabinet as well. A consensus has been reached between the relevant ministries on both sides, but the legal finalization is still pending,” he said.

The agreement with Oman is set to be based on an employee paying model. According to Uprety, the employer will bear the costs associated with sending the workers.

Additionally, the agreement includes provisions for holding joint meetings between both countries as necessary, where discussions regarding the rights and interests of the workers will take place.

Nepal has also raised the issue of repatriating the bodies of Nepali nationals who have died in Oman as quickly as possible. “We need to be very responsive regarding the matter of bringing back the deceased. We are trying to make employers a bit more accountable in terms of bilateral cooperation,” he said.

The agreement does not specify the minimum salary for workers. However, various aspects related to payment modalities have been included. Uprety mentioned that payments must be made through banking channels.

Task Force for renewal of labor agreement with South Korea

Preparations are underway for the renewal of the labour agreement with South Korea, which was established in 2007. Assistant Spokesperson Uprety indicated that a task force has been formed to review the agreement. The task force was supposed to hold discussions with HRD Korea. However, it has been temporarily halted because HRD Korea stated that they would only meet after receiving permission from their higher authorities. According to him, discussions between the two sides will now take place after the Tihar festival.

Since the labour agreement was established in 2007, Nepali workers have been going to South Korea through the EPS (Employment Permit System).

Awaiting a response from Malaysia

Nepal is preparing to renew the labour agreement with Malaysia, which was signed in 2018. The term of the labour agreement expired on October 29, 2023. Since then, Nepal has repeatedly urged Malaysia regarding the renewal of the agreement. However, Malaysia has not shown any readiness for the agreement so far.

Nepal has sent the draft of the labour agreement to the Malaysian government. The Nepali embassy in Malaysia submitted the draft to Malaysia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal.

According to Assistant Spokesperson Uprety, the draft has now reached Malaysia's Ministry of Labour. The ministry has indicated that the labour agreement with Malaysia has been finalized on Nepal's side and sent to the Malaysian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a response is still awaited.

“We sent a message to Malaysia expressing our willingness to renew the agreement. Now, it remains to be seen whether they will come back with new additions or simply continue as before,” Uprety said.

The then Home Minister of Malaysia, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, visited Nepal on February 2, 2023. During his three-day visit, he met with the then Labour Minister D.P. Aryal. During the meeting, discussions were held regarding the renewal of the labour agreement with Nepal.

At that time, Nepal was ready for the renewal of the agreement. However, after receiving no response from Malaysia, the renewal was halted.

Malaysia is interested in bringing domestic workers from Nepal and has repeatedly expressed this interest. However, Nepal has responded that it cannot send domestic workers immediately due to a ban on sending them. This may be one reason why Malaysia does not appear eager to renew the labour agreement, according to experts in the labour sector.

Currently, Malaysia has imposed a ban on bringing in foreign workers, citing the need to manage domestic labour and illegal workers since May.

Uprety stated that there has been no formal response from Malaysia's Ministry of Labour so far. “Now, the labour ministry there will either approve the documents we sent or make some amendments, and we will proceed based on that,” he said.

Malaysia has increased the minimum wage for workers to 1,700 Malaysian Ringgit effective from February 2025. The minimum wage, which was previously 1,500 Ringgit, has been raised by the Malaysian government. The Ministry of Labour there will establish procedures to implement this increase.