Earnings of overseas workers dwindle

Earnings of overseas workers dwindle
eKantipur.com, 27-Jun-07
BY PRABHAKAR GHIMIRE

Nepal has managed to post an encouraging growth in remittance, but a closer look at the receipts show that earnings of average Nepalis working overseas has dwindled drastically over the past one decade.

Data of Ministry of Labor shows the number of overseas workers has gone up by 77 times over the period of 1995/96 - 2005/06. However, the amount of remittance has edged up by just 34 times during the period, according to the central bank.

Analysis of these two figures suggests: earning per capita of overseas Nepali workers stands at mere half of what it used to be a decade ago.

In 1995/96, Nepal had received a total of Rs 2.66 billion in remittance from 2,134 workers employed abroad, which means each worker had earned an average of Rs 1.24 million per year.

Whereas, in 2005/06, 165,256 workers sent only Rs 92.75 billion, putting the earning per head at just above Rs 560,000 a year.

Moreover, per capita earning figure has gone down further in the first six months of the current fiscal year. With volume of remittance receipt standing at Rs 51.59 billion from 94,964 outgoing workers, per worker earning has dropped to Rs 542,500.

Foreign employment company operators attributed the continued shrinking in hard earned income to increasing global competition on overseas job and burgeoning living cost in the employer country.

“Intensified competition among workers from Nepal as well as other source countries has resulted in a decline in wage rate and other facilities to the workers” L P Sanwa, president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) told the Post.

“Even in work, where wage rate has remained stable, rise in inflation in host country and other factors have led to the volume of earnings going down.”

The major sufferers of decline in wage are unskilled laborers, who work at the lowest wage rate and face tough competition in the job market, he stated.

Rameswor Shah, president of Nepalese Society - UAE, also shared the same views.

“Nepali workers are toiling hard under 50 degree Celsius of blistering sun in UAE for meager wages, which has remained unchanged, barring a few cases over the past one decade” he said, adding that their working condition is more hazardous.”

However, the condition of skilled laborers is more satisfactory than the unskilled ones.

According to Shah, Nepali workers earn Rs 7,000 to Rs 1.2 million per month depending on their skill and company they work for. “Those who suffer the most and vulnerable to exploitation are unskilled laborers,” he added.

Realizing the fact, government is all set to fix minimum wage ceiling soon for Nepali workers heading for overseas job, said Ramesh Lekhak, minister of state for Labor.

“It is alarming that wage of Nepali workers has remained at meager 500 riyal per month for the last 15 years in the Gulf region,” he stated.

Dilli Ram Sharma, director at Department of Labor and Employment Promotion (DoLEP) attributed the depleting wages to increasing mobility of workers worldwide.