Labour recruiters have agreed to end their three-week-long strike following an agreement with the government.
After a series of failed talks, Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), which is an umbrella organization of labour recruiting companies, has agreed to accept the government's zero-cost migration policy for three months.
According to the NAFEA's General Secretary Rohan Gurung, labour recruiters accepted the zero-cost policy for three months after the government agreed to review it on the basis of a report to be submitted by a joint task force comprising representatives from the both sides.
After a meeting on Saturday, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) formed a task force led by acting labour secretary Surya Prasad Shrestha to review the zero-cost policy. The Shrestha task force will also have members from the NAFEA and prepare a report after visiting Malaysia and six other Gulf countries within two months.
Labour recruiters had earlier asked the government to scrap the zero-cost policy and implement it only after a thorough study. But they showed flexibility after Labour Minister Tek Bahadur Gurung refused to withdraw the policy.
After the zero-cost policy came into effect on 6 July, labour recruiters have stopped sending migrant workers to Malaysia and the Gulf countries. They have even prevented the pro zero-cost labour recruiters from seeking labour permits from the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE).
With the signing of a 31-point agreement between the MoLE and the NAFEA, labour recruiters are expected to resume their service. But some NAFEA officials have objected to the agreement, saying they were not consulted.