The government moves to update the existing three rules on migration and make a new one to ensure registration of all migrant workers and returnees. The move is meant for streamlining the manpower sector, beset with various problems.
Officials said the draft of a new rule on registration had already been finalised after consultation with all stakeholders.
The three rules being updated are recruiting-agency licence code of conduct rule 2002, wage-earning welfare fund rule 2002 and immigration rule 2002.
"We have already had an act, policy related to migration. The upgradation of existing rules and new rule on registration will help us ensure integrated labour migration," said an official in the planning section of the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment The registration rule will help develop a databank of jobseekers, outgoing workers and returnees, the official added.
The country had sent on average 500,000 workers, mainly unskilled, to different parts of the world during the last three-four years. Although the ministry has now developed a system for entry of jobseekers and sent migrants, there was not any system to know the number of returnees at present.
Ministry officials said the government wants to maintain the growth of 500,000 workers going abroad with the target of sending 60 per cent skilled and 40 per cent semi-skilled manpower in next five years under the 7th five-year plan.
They said upgrading the existing three rules and formulating new one will help develop a legal framework to achieve the migration-related target. Migration has so far been conducted through ordinances.
The rule on registration will focus three areas - people who are going, those who are returning and aspirant jobseekers. And the data will be incorporated from age, sex to skills, and areas the migrant workers belong to. Even names of recruiting agencies will also be included. The country has now overseas employment and migration act 2013 and expatriate welfare and overseas employment policy 2016.
Meanwhile, the ministry has also taken a move to improve its accreditation authority so that the migrant workers who will have any certificate from them get importance in worker-recipient countries.
The Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) works as the authority to provide initial training to the migrant workers before they fly with jobs abroad.
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