Bhutan recruitment agencies warned

Phuentsholing: The labor ministry has warned the Foreign Workers Recruitment Agency (FWRA) to deliver services professionally or close down. “With the monitoring on the FWRA, we will ensure your business only if the quality is good,” said the labor secretary, Dasho Dr. Sonam Tenzin. The agencies will be evaluated annually, he said. In a two-day consultative workshop with the private and corporate sector, he said some of the agencies will lose their licenses and it will be taken up by those who can deliver quality service.

The secretary said the function of the agency was not only to recruit laborers, but also to take the workers out of the country after the completion of the project. “The agency at the present just wants to take the commission, dump the workers and wash off their hands. Their responsibility is right from the start to the finish. Now, the Resolution of the 87th National Assembly Session Areas(repair and maintenance) By Government By people under Zhabto Lemi Community and institutionally owned lhakhangs Major by government Minor by people RWSS, water reservoir and irrigation channels For major, provide construction materials and masonries Minor by people (RWSS below 10 km and irrigation channel below 5km). Mule tracks and suspension bridges For major provide materials Minor by people Farm roads As per MoA’s policy approved during the 85th NA Session Community Schools (Construction and maintenance) Government provides CGI sheet and skilled labor while community will provide labor and other requirements, and maintenance fully by the people. The NA decision came a day after the National Council had resolved to ask the government to either end the Zhapto-Lemi system or to make necessary changes to benefit the people. The 87th Assembly resolution revolves around the idea of Understandings (MoUs) will be signed between the government and the communities for every scheme specifying the labor contribution. The Zhapto-Lemi issue was raised by the Drakteng-Langthel MP of Trongsa Rinchen 45 to 75 days. The minister told BT that the Zhapto-Lemi Act had not been implemented effectively. The Act had identified schemes under eight different sectors and all work specifications for labor contribution pointed out only repair and maintenance works and not construction works. Thus, the 87th Assembly’s resolution of requiring labor for the construction of community schools is not as per the revoked Act.

Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi said Zhapto-Lemi became a burden for the people only when they were employed for construction projects. In the house, the minister said the Zhapto-Lemi issue had been deliberated in 10 National Assembly sessions in the past since 1980.

The Assembly’s resolution to repeal the Act was proposed by the labor minister. He also said “Nonetheless, it will be considered important to retain its key principles of people’s participation, local governance and decentralized decision-making, among others.”

Seven MPs proposed the Zhapto-Lemi system should be reduced to benefit the people. Punakha MP Tshering Penjor said Zhabtog Lemi should exist in some areas and the government should ensure that people are not made to contribute labor under the guise of Zhabto-Lemi. The Opposition Leader proposed the Zhabto-Lemi system was against the idea of equity and justice. He said it was not fair to impose Zhabto-Lemi only on the rural people. “Even the people from urban areas should be made to contribute Zhabto-Lemi,” he proposed drawing the ire of the DPT dominant house. In reply, the agriculture minister, Lyonpo Dr. Pema Gyamtsho said one cannot equate the idea of equity and justice to the Zhapto-Lemi system. He said people in urban areas paid taxes which compensated for the labor contribution. Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba said Zhapto-Lemi has benefited the country. He said Bhutan is an aid-dependent country and if Zhabto-Lemi is discontinued, the government will have to garner more funds to carry out the works which meant more dependence on aids. In the National Council on January 7, Trashigang MP Sonam Kinga proposed that Zhapto-Lemi was not fair on the people as some contributed more labor than others. Dasho Karma Ura said out of 125,000 households in the country, 37,000 households needed to contribute labor. Out of 37,000, about 18% (6,660) of the households were exempted and the remaining (31,080) were contributing labor. He said 57% of the villagers offering Zhabto-Lemi services were either unpaid or paid only Nu 1,000 to 2,000 for the annual work. A Zhabto-Lemi worker is entitled to get Nu 100 per day. Tshering, a civil servant commented on the NA resolution: “Revoking the Act but retaining the Zhapto-Lemi system does not make sense. It does not change anything for villagers contributing labor. After all, they will still be carrying the spades and sweating when they are summoned to contribute labor.”

Another civil servant said, “The resolution zeroes down to zero output.” agencies will have to deliver. There should not be any lapses in the security,” he said. As soon as an agency gets approval for foreign workers, it was the responsibility of an agency to screen the workers, complete the immigration and medical formalities with the employers, he added. “In case of laborers absconding, the agents and employers would be held responsible,” he said.

The secretary also said all skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled foreign workers should be routed through the FWRA. “With all the mega power projects coming up and foreign workers to be routed through the agency, we will have to see whether the agencies are able to handle this. This is a policy we are trying to incorporate for all time to come,” he said. Given the large demand of labor with the projects coming up, a labor agent said the present ten agencies in Phuentsholing will have a grueling task ahead. He said there were restrictions from the Road Safety and Transport Authority while deploying buses to reach workers to the site and the City Corporation objected the setting up of transit camps for the laborers.

The director general of labor, Pema Wangda, said if the selected ten agencies for Phuentsholing are not able to cope up and if the workload is heavy, the ministry would recommend some more agencies. He said numerous illegal activities was prevalent earlier while recruiting workers. And this was the main reason in reducing the number of FWRA agencies from more than 30 to 10.

“It had become such a racket. Some agencies had even sold sealed and signed premedical forms,” he said. The proprietor of Dheychhog Workforce Services, Karma Dorji, said the compulsory routing of the foreign workers through the agency is attractive, but the most important thing is that the ministry implements it.

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