Nepal presses Malaysia to convene joint talks over migrant worker recruitment system
Summary
Nepal is pressing Malaysia to hold talks over a disputed new recruitment system for migrant workers that has limited the number of Nepali agencies allowed to participate. The government says it wants transparency, fair competition and an early resolution to avoid disrupting worker recruitment.
Key Points
- Nepal wants Malaysia to set a date for joint technical committee talks to resolve the recruitment-agency dispute through a bilateral mechanism.
- Malaysia’s new FWCMS system has listed 25 Nepali agencies as principal agencies and 250 as associate or supporting agencies, prompting objections from Kathmandu.
- The labour ministry has asked the selected agencies to explain the criteria, process and legality of their selection.
- Recruitment from Nepal is currently proceeding only under quotas issued by Malaysia before September 22, while about 400,000 Nepalis work in Malaysia.
