The committee appointed by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security to determine the service fees that manpower agencies can charge has been unable to submit its report even after more than two months. Formed under the Foreign Employment Act to set a cap on service fees charged to workers, the committee’s delay has been caused by various protests and uncertainties. One committee member stated, “Most of the work is done; only a few issues remain to be finalized,” confirming that internal discussions are in their final stages.
27 Shrawan, Kathmandu – The Ministry of Youth, Labour, and Employment has struggled to reach a consensus within the committee it formed to recommend service fees that manpower agencies can charge workers seeking foreign employment. Chaired by Joint Secretary Pitambar Ghimire, the committee has yet to finalize the fee limits, despite the government emphasizing that employers should bear the costs of foreign employment. In this context, the committee remains uncertain about setting a maximum permissible fee charged to workers by manpower companies.
Although the assigned timeframe was five to seven weeks, over two months have passed without a submitted report. The committee was established on Jestha 22, 2083 (June 5, 2026) by a ministerial decision, with members including representatives from the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers’ Office, Nepal Rastra Bank, Central Bureau of Statistics, and chartered accountants appointed by the ministry. The deputy secretary of the ministry’s Foreign Employment Management Division acts as the member secretary.
The committee’s mandate is to recommend service fees by studying policy and legal frameworks, international practices, and Nepal’s context; analyzing data including destination countries, nature of migrant workers’ jobs, and monthly wages. Additionally, it is responsible for developing frameworks for monitoring licensed institutions and implementing decisions related to service fees.
Under Section 24 of the Foreign Employment Act, 2064 (2007), the government is empowered to set maximum service fees, inclusive of promotional expenses, for particular countries or companies. Based on this provision, the ministerial-level committee was formed.
The primary reason for the delay has been the uncertainty within the committee about the fee structure. Discussions revolve around whether to recommend a fee equivalent to one month’s salary of the worker or other alternatives. According to a member, the report is in its final drafting stage, with most issues agreed upon but technical details still under review. “Most work is complete; only a few subjects remain to be finalized,” the member said, “discussions about service fees are ongoing.”
The committee plans to complete internal discussions and finalize the report within a few days. However, questions have arisen about whether such decisions can be made solely at the staff level. A previous inter-ministerial committee led by former Joint Secretary Jivalal Bhusal, including other joint secretaries, had concluded that service fee determination cannot be resolved only at the staff level and requires higher-level consultations.
“The previous committee under Mr. Bhusal also stated that this matter cannot be finalized at the staff level alone and emphasized the need for a high-level committee,” several current committee members noted. Given that the current committee is also led by a joint secretary, there has been informal questioning regarding the seriousness and implementation capacity of the recommendations.
The manpower agencies’ ongoing agitation since Bhadra 1 (mid-August) has also impacted the process, delaying the report’s release. The strategy has been to wait and submit the report after observing the negotiations between the government and the protesting agencies. “Submitting the report after considering the status of the agitation and talks with the government seemed appropriate,” a source revealed. The committee is preparing to submit recommendations to the government soon after concluding internal discussions.
The report has garnered attention for addressing the longstanding demands raised by manpower agencies regarding service fees. Agencies have announced a protest with 15 key demands, including fixing the service fee equivalent to one month’s salary. They have threatened to halt sending workers abroad for foreign employment if these demands are not met by Bhadra 1.
According to Dik Bahadur Khatri, president of the Nepal Foreign Employment Association, the lack of specified service fees has led to lawlessness in the manpower sector and operational issues for the agencies. Committee members emphasized placing priority on concluding the service fee determination, identified as one of the urgent decisions the government can make during ongoing protests.
