Government crackdown on dubious employment agencies has stopped departure of Nepali migrant workers to foreign countries, Labour Minister Gokarna Bista told Parliament on Wednesday.

Over the last few months, the government has taken punitive action against employment agencies and individual agents who either charged high fees or illegally collected money from outbound Nepali migrant workers. Migration of Nepali workers to Malaysia has come to a complete halt for a month now after the government closed many agencies for illegally demanding additional money for providing visa-processing services.

Minister Bista reiterated government’s strong stance against dubious agencies that cheated migrant workers.

“Illegally operating agencies, involved in cheating our workers have been closed down. This has halted migration for a while,” Bista told Parliament. He said the government would not allow any organised syndicate to rob poor migrant workers.

“A handful of people cannot loot millions of poor workers. The government will end their reign of fraud. No matter how tough the government will have to act, such activities will not be tolerated and no one will be spared,” warned the minister.

A Nepali worker had to pay an additional Rs18,480 for MiGRAMS, biometric medical test, services of One Stop Centre (OSC) operated by Malaysia VLN Nepal Pvt Ltd during visa processing, and Immigration Security Clearance (ISC), conducted by GSG Services Nepal. (PR)