Thousands of Nepalese workers in Iraq will be able to keep their jobs after the government lifted a ban on travel to the war-torn country, the employment ministry said on Thursday.
The workers risked being sent home after the US government directed all companies it employs in Iraq to dismiss anyone working there illegally.
"The government has taken this decision to protect the interests of thousands of Nepalese migrant workers in Iraq," ministry spokesman Purna Bhattarai said.
Nepal banned its nationals from working in Iraq after 12 Nepalese contractors were kidnapped and executed by an Islamic militant group in 2004.
But the government estimates that up to 30,000 may be working there illegally, mostly as security staff, attracted by the comparatively high pay on offer.
Thousands of Nepalese leave the desperately poor country every month to seek employment abroad, mostly in Gulf countries and Malaysia.
Last year, remittances from overseas workers accounted for 21 percent of the country's gross domestic product.
Many nationalities work illegally in Iraq despite the ban
The U.S. military said Wednesday it is clamping down on contracting firms on American military bases using employees whose home countries ban travel to Iraq, raising questions about why the contractors were allowed to work in the country for so long despite the ban.
Philippine’s citizens have been banned since 2004 from traveling to Iraq after insurgents threatened to behead a Filipino truck driver, and officials in the Philippines say they have repeatedly asked the U.S. and other countries to respect their ban.
Despite the ban, many citizens from the Philippines still make the journey to Iraq, joining the tens of thousands of contractors.
U.S. Col. Richard E. Nolan, of the military's contracting office in Iraq, said the military is investigating the firms' work forces.
Nolan says companies would have 20 days to outline a plan for ensuring their work force conforms with regulations. There is no immediate timeline for when the workers would have to leave the country.
"We want to make sure that we give contractors enough time to do that so that it doesn't impact our mission out here," said Nolan, who arrived in Iraq about two weeks ago.
Nolan said the issue came to light when he received information that at least eight contractors had been left behind by their employers. When the military began trying to repatriate the eight contractors, they discovered that four were from countries that banned travel to Iraq.
News of the clampdown was first made public by the Ms. Sparky website, which bills itself as being run by an American former contractor in Iraq and often covers issues related to contractors working with the U.S. military.
The website posted a memo written by Nolan outlining concerns about the contractors that had been left behind and setting a 20-day timeline for compliance. Nolan authenticated the contents of the memo to The Associated Press.
When asked why there were contractors in the country whose home countries have banned travel to Iraq, the U.S. military press desk said in a statement: "Many Third Country Nationals (TCNS) were employed as contractors to support the war effort in Iraq before travel bans were put in place ... The U.S. government continuously inspects our contractor work force to ensure they are in compliance with contract terms and conditions."
According to the press desk, no disciplinary actions have been taken against the contracting companies.
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