The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) has prepared a draft proposal to revise the Foreign Employment Act, making some key changes in the existing laws that stakeholders believe will prove instrumental in reforming the foreign employment sector.

MoLE officials say they will soon forward the draft proposal to the Cabinet for approval. 

 The draft proposal includes several provisions that seek to replace the current agent-driven recruitment system with a more ethical and transparent system.

Once the act comes into effect, the recruiting agencies will have to do transaction with clients through banking channel and increase the guarantee amount from Rs 3 million to Rs 10 million.

“The proposed act seeks to plug legal loopholes that were creating a lot of challenges in the implementation,” said MoLE officials who were engaged in the drafting process. 

“The Foreign Employment Act 2007 appears more sympathetic to recruiting agencies than migrant workers as the former had the upper hand while drafting it. The key focus of this amendment is to secure workers’ interests and provide ample authority to government offices to address the challenges,” said an MoLE official.