Nepal signs agreement with UK to provide foreign workers

Robert Besser
24 Aug 2022, 12:44 GMT+10

Under its first labor agreement with Nepal, the UK will recruit health professionals from the Himalayan country
The move will help the UK offset a shortage of labor, and boost remittances to Nepal from its migrant workers
The Nepal government and the British Embassy in Kathmandu announced the signing of a preliminary agreement to allow "fair and ethical recruitment" of Nepali healthcare professionals in the British health sector

LONDON, England: Under its first labor agreement with Nepal, the UK will recruit health professionals from the Himalayan country, British officials said this week.

The move will help the UK offset a shortage of labor, and boost remittances to Nepal from its migrant workers.

In a joint statement, the Nepal government and the British Embassy in Kathmandu announced the signing of a preliminary agreement to allow "fair and ethical recruitment" of Nepali healthcare professionals in the British health sector.

The statement also stressed that workers will "receive equal rights, privileges, protection and dignity as health professionals from the UK."

The pilot phase of the UK's recruitment campaign will begin with nurses.

While activists constantly highlight their often poor working conditions, millions of Nepali workers abroad, mainly in the Middle East and Malaysia, sent remittances worth $8.33 billion back to Nepal in the year ending mid-July, an increase of 2.2 percent from the previous year.

"Further details, including the protocol of recruitment and placement, will be jointly agreed between the two governments," the statement added.

Assistant spokesperson for the Nepali Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Thaneswor Bhusal, said the hiring of health professionals "is the first agreement between the two countries in the domain of labor supply."