Nepal, Nov. 25 -- Just two days after he was appointed minister for labour, employment and social security, Gokarna Bista made his first major decision. He announced that the Department of Foreign Employment would now be hearing complaints from migrant workers every day-not just once a week. He set up a separate desk to register grievances and identified two prospective places outside of the Kathmandu Valley to issue work permits.

The initiatives were early signs of how Bista would handle the labour ministry, one of the most important portfolios in a country whose economy is supported by remittance from migrant workers. Bista had a hard battle ahead of him, dealing with workers' plights in foreign lands, labour issues at home, and the fr...