Nepalis in Mauritius are migrants from Nepal to Mauritius, mostly migrant workers and expatriates. According to the Joint-Secretary at Nepal's Ministry of Labor and Transport Management, about 500 Nepalis are estimated to be working in Mauritius.
Mauritius began showing interest in employing Nepalese workers in sugarcane farming, sugar industries and tourism (the key sector of the Mauritius economy). Nepal has been sending a nominal number of workers to Mauritius though the Nepalese government formally granted permission to manpower agencies to send workers to the country since 2009. During the fiscal years of 2008 and 2009, the total number of workers flying to Mauritius from Nepal was 24 and they are mainly employed at sugarcane farms, sugar industries and hotels.
Labor issues
Nepalese workers, along with migrant workers from other countries, claimed that they live in terrible conditions. The workers often live in dormitories provided by their employers that are crowded and decrepit. Also many of them have to take out large loans in order to pay labor agents who connect them with work in Mauritius. However, most workers struggle to make enough to pay back their loans, cover their most basic living expenses and save a small amount of money for their families.
In March 2011, a group of Nepalese and Bangladeshi workers went on strike and protested against Santex Ltd, a textile factory in Goodlands where they work, because of the poor living conditions they provided. The expatriates were angry because they have not had water for domestic use for more than three months. And they deplored that the company has been paying them only Rs600 for meal allowance per month.