Conflict can both shrink and expand labour demand

Without proper registration and data collection mechanisms, a government has only limited ability to respond during emergencies or crises.

As the conflict in West Asia escalates, concerns are growing in Nepal about the safety, mobility, and livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of Nepali workers in the region. In this interview with the Post ’s Purushottam Poudel, labour migration expert and political scientist Jeevan Baniya , who is also deputy director of Social Science Baha, reflects on the implications of rising instability in West Asia for Nepal’s labour economy, the gaps in current labour migration policy, and the systemic vulnerabilities faced by both documented and undocumented Nepali workers abroad.