No impact of global meltdown yet in Nepal

Kathmandu, Dec 30 (ANI): A high level Nepal Government official has said that the ongoing global financial crisis has not yet affected the employment of Nepali youths abroad.

While speaking at an interaction program on "Global Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Foreign Employment" Krishna Hai Baskota, revenue secretary at the Ministry of Finance, said," The layoffs in the job destinations had been limited to highly paid employees and workers in the lower rungs were untouched.

"As Nepali migrant workers fall under the second category, it is unlikely that they will lose their jobs en masse," he added

He said that the government was watching the developments in the world economy very closely so that it could take appropriate and timely measures.

" There was no need for panic as the crisis was yet to be felt in Nepal," he added

However, former chairman of Security Board of Nepal Dr Chiranjivi Nepal said that as Malaysia and the Gulf countries have started to feel the heat of the global financial crisis, they are laying off unskilled workers like Nepalis.

According to Nepalnews, Tilak Bahadur Ranabhat, president of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) urged the government to come up with concrete packages to help the remittance business that contributes around 17.4 percent to the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). (ANI)