Government working to end compulsion forcing young Nepalis to seek work overseas, says Labour minister at NA meet

KATHMANDU: The government is working to end the compulsion that drives young Nepalis to seek work overseas, Minister for Youth, Labour and Employment Ramjee Yadav said.

Speaking in the National Assembly at Singha Durbar, Minister Yadav said the administration will create conditions so that young people go abroad only voluntarily and through safe, convenient channels rather than out of necessity.

He told lawmakers that the 'National Employment Policy, 2071 BS' is under review and that preparations are underway to amend the National Employment Act to provide a legal framework for job creation within Nepal. He said there is currently no dedicated policy or Act specifically aimed at generating domestic employment and reiterated his commitment to revise the employment policy and devise related measures.

Minister Yadav said the government expects to show tangible progress in employment generation this year and that the process of securing an in-principle agreement to draft a 'National Employment Promotion Act' has been initiated. He added that the 'Procedure for Integrating Employment, Skills and Entrepreneurship, 2083 BS' is already in force.

The minister reported that Employment, Skills and Entrepreneurship Centres have been mobilised across all 753 local levels. Plans are underway to run workplace-based training driven by industry demand and to hold skills and employment fairs in all seven provinces. Programmes on the 'care economy' and 'digital employment' are also in development.

The government has declared the fiscal years 2026/27 to 2035/36 as the 'Internal Employment Promotion Decade', Yadav said. He outlined measures to boost agricultural productivity and to harness the skills and capital of returnee migrant workers for production and entrepreneurship.

Efforts are ongoing to manage unemployment data and to develop the 'Shram Sansar' (Labour Ecosystem) system as an interface between employers and employees. Yadav added that policies have been adopted to prevent fraud, exploitation and situations in which workers become stranded abroad.

He said labour approvals for workers presenting complete documents are now issued within two hours and that re-entry labour approvals have been fully automated. Since taking office in April, the ministry has launched an online portal for filing complaints of fraud and introduced an app for reporting illegal agents and intermediaries.

By RSS