During a monitoring visit to the Middle East last year, it was found that many Bhutanese domestic workers lacked proper employment agreements and legally attested documents, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation

Dechen Dolkar

The Department of Employment and Entrepreneurship (DoEE) has facilitated overseas employment for around 34 individuals in the Middle East during the financial year 2023-24 to till now including 26 women and eight men.

Since the inception of the overseas employment programme, the department has helped a total of 13,304 job seekers find work in countries such as Japan, Singapore, and various nations in the Middle East.

However, the department faces ongoing challenges with individuals pursuing overseas opportunities through unregistered agents or on their own. In some cases, the department has had to intervene at the airport, stopping individuals from boarding flights with unverified documentation. This is done to avoid a situation where the government has to facilitate the necessary documentation and assist in their return later.

The director general of DoEE, Kunzang Lhamu, said that unregistered agents often lure job seekers with attractive salary offers, but many end up in domestic work situations fraught with risks, which that involve elements of human trafficking. “The ministry strongly discourages job seekers from seeking overseas domestic work,” she said. 

Last year, during a monitoring visit to the Middle East, the ministry discovered that many overseas domestic workers were unpaid for months and subjected to unjustified salary deductions. “Domestic work is risky and uncertain,” Kunzang Lhamu said.

Many Bhutanese workers lacked proper employment agreements or legally attested documents, leaving them vulnerable.

The ministry had to provide support and assistance to some of them who had gone on their own. A majority of these cases involved elements of trafficking.

To reduce the risk of exploitation, the DoEE urges those considering self-arranged overseas employment to have their documents attested by the ministry.

The director general said that through collaboration with airport staff, the department has managed to retain some individuals, verify and attest their documents, check their employers, and allow them to proceed safely.

In a bid to protect job seekers, the ministry plans to conduct awareness training for frontline workers at border entry and exit points, especially since some individuals attempt to evade official scrutiny by travelling by road.

The majority of self-arranged job seekers are socioeconomically disadvantaged, including single mothers and those with lower educational qualifications.

The director general said that considering these challenges, the department has refined its criteria to provide targeted assistance to those genuinely seeking overseas employment and facing hardships, including those who have returned to Bhutan due to vulnerable circumstances.

However, she said that job seekers must meet a minimum qualification of Class X and be aged between 21 and 29. “This standard aims to improve employment outcomes, as individuals with this level of education tend to perform better and receive positive feedback from employers,” she said.

The ministry has placed employment for 203 job seekers in Bahrain, 813 in Japan, 7,963 in Kuwait, 24 in Oman, 1,098 in Qatar, and 1,500 in the UAE, primarily in sectors such as hospitality, retail, and nursing.