The deceased, who was working there, is said to have committed suicide

Labour: A 26-year-old Bhutanese man working in Dubai was found dead on March 14.

The deceased who was from Beldara, Samdrupjongkhar was recruited by the M.H Alshaya company, a multinational retail franchise operator that is headquartered in Kuwait. The placement was facilitated by the labour ministry under the overseas employment scheme.

On enquiry labour officials learned that the deceased had committed suicide. Officials said that the deceased was suffering from a mental disorder and had undergone treatment at the Thimphu referral hospital. However, officials said that the deceased had not shared his medical condition with the company when he was recruited.

The body will be transported back by the company after the completion of formalities between the company and Bhutanese Embassy in Kuwait.

The deceased was in the fourth batch of graduates who were sent to work as sales associates with the company in January earlier this year.

According to officials from the ministry, Bhutanese Overseas Employment Agents (BOEAs) are responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the workers they place. The agency concerned follows up on complaints and disagreements from the workers and acts accordingly.

The ministry also sends jobseekers directly without involving any employment agents. Officials said that the ministry has a system of getting feedback on the workers sent directly by them and so far they haven’t received any complaints from their group.

Labour officials said that overseas workers who are exploited by employers or have complaints are those who have gone to work abroad on their own.

The labour ministry will take action on those agents as per the provisions of the overseas regulations.

Currently there are eight employment agents registered with the ministry.

The overseas employment programme was launched in 2014 as an interim measure to ease the rising unemployment in the country. As of February 2016, a total of 1,463 (1,051 women and 412 men) Bhutanese jobseekers have been placed abroad under the programme.

Bhutanese youth have been placed in countries such as India, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Dubai, Malaysia, Japan and Thailand.

 Younten Tshedup

Advertisement