Agreement for social security for migrant workers from Nepal in Oman

Muscat: To benefit expatriate workers, the government of Nepal and Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide social security and (pension) provident fund to migrant workers.
According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the number of Nepali nationals in the private sector was pegged at 14,148 as of May 2016. Out of this, 9,823 are males and 4,325 are females.
The proposal for creating the fund was handed over to the Prime Minister of Nepal by representatives of the Muscat chapter of the NRNA, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in 2015.
“The main reason to create this welfare fund is to ensure the safety of workers and their families during crises. A migrant worker may get killed or become disabled and may not be able to work further, then he must get some financial assistance. There should be some money in his or her account after a migrant worker returns home,” said D B Chhetri, Middle East regional coordinator of NRNA.
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He also said NRNA had taken up this issue in October 2015 at the global conference agenda and formed a task force. “After years of struggle, the MoU was signed last week in Kathmandu with the Nepal government’s provident fund and NRNA,” he said.
The plan is to collect a minimum of OMR5 to OMR25 from each expatriate worker every month. “This money will be used during emergency or when the worker returns home after working abroad.”
He also said it must be ensured that these workers and their families are provided with both social and financial security. “One should not forget that migrant workers are supporting the nation. The remittance generated by Nepali workers in the Gulf constitutes 25 per cent of the GDP (gross domestic product) of the country.”
Around 4 million Nepalis are working overseas, mostly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia and Oman. “It will be a great help to all these expatriate workers,” Chhetri added.