The government has taken action against three Kathmandu-based recruiting agencies found in conducting interviews with prospective candidates for jobs in Qatar police without complying with the rules.

Department of Foreign Employment, the government body that manages the labour migration sector, has suspended the operating licence of the three recruiting agencies for next six months.

Tikamani Neupane, spokesperson for the department, SOS Manpower Services Pvt Ltd, DD Human Resources Pvt Ltd and Hope International Pvt Ltd won’t be allowed to operate for the next six months after they were found to have conducted the interviews without approval from the department.

“These agencies can’t do any business for the next six months,” Neupane told the Post. “They have not been fined, but the action we have taken against them is severe as they won’t be allowed to send any workers abroad for the next six months.”

Last week, the three agencies flouted foreign employment rules and conducted interviews with candidates promising them a place in Qatar Police.

On Monday, the Department of Foreign Employment had raided SOS Manpower Services Pvt Ltd and DD Human Resources Pvt Ltd only to find its operators interviewing candidates.

The next day, officials raided Hope International. Upon inquiry, they discovered that the agency was preparing to interview prospective workers even as the jobs they were being interviewed for were not verified.

Several hundred Nepali youths attracted by the lucrative job had come to these agencies with the hope of landing the job.

“When our team reached the scene, we seized their documents and called the agencies’ operators to the department. However, it seems these agencies were yet to collect any money from candidates,” said Neupane.

The whole incident and sighting of a vehicle belonging to the Qatar Embassy on the premises of one of the agencies has sparked a controversy and fuelled allegations that a group of recruiting agencies, in cahoots, with the Qatari embassy are trying to form a syndicate to exclusively send Nepali workers to Qatar.

The Qatari embassy in Kathmandu, however, has refuted the allegations that it was involved in the hiring process.

Sujit Kumar Shrestha, general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), a grouping of 854 recruiting agencies, said action will be taken against the three agencies which had conducted interviews illegally.

“NAFEA has already demanded clarification from the three agencies for their involvement in unethical activities,” said Shrestha. “NAFEA will scrap the general membership of these agencies as well.”

The government agency, however, is still not in a position to say whether the recent malpractices seen for Qatari jobs had any links with the alleged syndicate.

Meanwhile prospective workers are concerned that the controversy will cost them the lucrative opportunity. However, the feoreign employment department said their action against the three agencies will not affect demand for Nepali workers.

“Other recruiting agencies can supply workers for Qatari Police if they complete all the procedures before conducting interviews,” said Neupane. “We hope that the agencies will still get demands for security guards as Qatar also seems interested in hiring Nepalis.”