Nepal's Perspective On Bilateral Labour Agreements

Bilateral Labour Agreements (BLAs) are international arrangements between two nations-- labour sending and labour receiving ones. Such deals specify the provisions, rationale and benefits both sides may reap. The term “BLA” means both Bilateral International Treaties or Agreements, and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). A sending nation needs to know the difference between these two measures where the first one is binding and requires the high level approval of the respective governments while the latter are non-binding good-faith accords that may not entail such high-level approval. Receiving nations may prefer a loosely drawn MOU. It allows them to conceal the exploitation of migrant workers with no simple legal recourse. BLAs enable protection of workers from exploitation, wage discrimination, inadequate pay, and hazardous working conditions. Traditionally, BLAs were based on diplomatic negotiations reached between nations with shortage of workforce with specific or general skills, and those with unemployed surplus. 

By default, the receiving nation has more control over the size of the temporary migrant workforce, while prioritising the needed skills.  They obtain many benefits from BLAs, including control the flow in numbers and qualifications, regulate potential unlawful entry into their labour market, and strengthen diplomatic relations with the sending nations. Sending nations also can benefit from the BLAs, among others, equipping the workforce with education and skills, tackle national unemployment, receive remittances, curtail informal exit of labour force, and strengthen diplomatic relations with receiving nations. Such workforce employed overseas learn valuable viewpoints by being immersed in new cultures, improving their ability to solve problems and work creatively. Most importantly, the nations may initiate plans for utilisation of skills and earnings of returning workers for acceleration of their economic development.

Cooperation

Another benefit of BLAs is that they help improve diplomatic relations between receiving and sending countries, promote bilateral and regional cooperation. In principle, it looks like bilateral trade agreements where a nation sells excess goods to a nation that does not produce enough. The BLAs may also contribute to promoting ties among the nations having labour market integration boosting mutually beneficial regional economic cooperation. Beyond filling the needed labour niches, international workers provide multiple additional benefits to labour receiving countries. Such workers submerge into the nation’s culture and language, eventually becoming first-line couriers of the host nation’s traditions upon their return to their nations of origin. This cultural transmission works both ways and improves public perceptions of each other’s image thus driving closer to cultural, economic, and governmental ties. 

The best example of an optimal BLA model is the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) signed between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that pertain to workers’ rights, capacity building, technical assistance, and separate dispute settlement procedures. Another is the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Agreement, under which, the parties are required to adopt and maintain labour rights in law and practice as recognised by the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, to enforce existing domestic labour laws, and not to waive or deviate from these laws. These considerations have gained weight with cases of labour exploitations occurring overtime especially in the Middle East nations. A report of International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has revealed issues of sexual exploitations, and even human trafficking in the name of surge in demand for migrant workers especially in the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries. 

Data show that the number of countries open for foreign employment is 111 with Nepali workforce informally spread in about 190 countries globally. Information is also available that the nation has signed formal BLAs (majority in the form of MOUs) with 11 countries-- Israel, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Mauritius, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea. Spiralling growth in the number of overseas employment seekers calls for in-depth research and analysis in which area the migrant labours will offer mutual benefits and has comparative advantages in skills and strength where they would be employed-- agriculture, industry, security, household services, healthcare, nursing, etc. Not just looking at wages and benefits Nepali workers may receive, it also calls for a need to compare wages and benefits with the level of hardships these people are facing in each of countries.

A trend is such that Nepali workers line up to grab any employment opportunity overseas that comes up front with reluctancy to seek such opportunities in the home country. Even for middle-level technical jobs that are available, they complain of salaries offered are too low for dignified living. Moreover, “brain drain” is expected to be a real problem for Nepal with students going abroad for higher education reluctant to return home, thereby steadily creating a big gap of high-level technical workforce in the country. Besides, mass exodus of less educated people and youths has caused a sort of ‘brawn drain’ problem. Majority of the country’s cultivable land is being left barren due to shortage of farm labour resulting in sharp decline in agricultural production over the years. It is time for Nepal to evaluate and take appropriate measures as how BLAs impact its workforce at all levels so that both brain drain and “brawn-drain” can be converted into wisdom gain while retaining the labour force necessary for boosting overall national production. 

Workforce shortfalls

Malaysia, the UAE, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar have shown their interest in providing continuity to the existing BLA signed with Nepal, and some new BLA negotiations are in the process. It is important to keep track of discrimination of Nepali labourers based on nationality, faith, religious belief, gender, etc. Before signing any BLA, policy and labour laws pertaining to overseas employment need revisiting before receiving nations accept temporary migrant labours to help fill workforce shortfalls and sustain their industrial production and supply chain.  Nepal needs to consider entering into additional mutually beneficial arrangements while seriously looking into whether their labour and human rights are duly protected and the process can become a win-win game. It also needs to chart out the long-term plan to use the skills, knowledge and experience of returnee migrant labourers for acceleration of its development process.

(The author is former Under Secretary at the Ministry of Finance.)