KATHMANDU:-The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Nepal has made it clear that the ‘Skills Verification Program’ (SVP) will be implemented compulsorily for Nepali workers going to Saudi Arabia. In a meeting with representatives of the Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs Association, Saudi Arabian Ambassador Fahad Monakir informed that this is an official policy of the Saudi government and will not be postponed and will be implemented from July 1.
According to Ambassador Monakir, a fee of 50 US dollars (about 7,500 Nepali rupees) has been set for skill certification. The embassy is preparing to operate this program from Kathmandu as well as Lumbini, Janakpur, Narayangadh and Mahottari. Earlier, the work of the Skill Verification Center to be established in Dhapasi, Kathmandu, was stopped due to opposition from the Nepal Foreign Employment Entrepreneurs Association.
Association President Dik Bahadur Khatri, while objecting to the objections of businessmen and the suspicions of syndicates, claimed that this system would impose additional financial burden on poor workers and create new syndicates in foreign employment. He said that it was wrong to give a monopoly to a private organization when there is a government agency like CTEVT for skill testing in Nepal.
Chairman Khatri suspected that there may be irregularities in the SVP, just like in the ‘VFS’ system used for biometrics. He alleged that even though the VFS fee is fixed at Rs 750, workers are being forced to pay an additional Rs 3,500 to avail the fast service. Businessmen have expressed dissatisfaction saying that Saudi Arabia is trying to advance this program as a ‘Business to Business’ (B2B) agreement.
The association believes that it is suspicious to run such a program through the private sector, which is against the labor agreement signed between the governments of the two countries and international labor laws. The association has also sent a formal letter to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Labor, and the Saudi Arabian Embassy, demanding a study on the matter and a decision in the interest of the workers and the end of the syndicate.