'Employees not responsible for KFC, Pizza Hut closure'

All Nepal Revolutionary Trade Union Federation today claimed that the closure of the international chains — KFC and Pizza Hut — operated by Devyani International Nepal was not due to labour problems but due to the wrong policy adopted by the government.
Speaking at a press meet organised here at the capital, coordinator of the federation Ramdip Acharya said that the management of the international outlets, KFC and Pizza Hut, also wanted to close down services. "It is baseless to blame that both outlets were closed down due to an attempt to register the All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union-Revolutionary, the CPN-Maoist affiliated trade union," he said, adding that the multinational company should follow the law of the land.
The federation is committed to promoting foreign investment in the country, he added. "But the management unilaterally shut down their services without consulting employees."
The management made employees the scapegoats, he blamed. "The federation was not carrying out any activity to hurt the business of KFC and Pizza Hut."
The only aim of the federation was to expand the presence of All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union-Revolutionary at those outlets, he said, denying the charge of physical attack on the management. "No member of the federation was involved in 'the attack'," said Acharya, calling the management to come to the table to solve the problem through dialogue. "But the management is shying away from having a dialogue."

Dispute over salary adjustment leads to closure of Vaishali Hotel

The dispute between workers' union and management of Hotel Vaishali in Thamel over salary adjustment has led to the closure of the hotel yesterday. The union claims that it is ready to resolve the misunderstanding with the management, if it agrees to fulfil their demands on salary adjustment, whereas the management claimed that the union is not serious.
According to the managing director of the hotel Bishal Kumar, the workers' union themselves halted the entire work and shutdown the hotel.
"We are bearing a loss of around half a million rupee by today," he added.
Due to the protest of the workers union, the hotel management transferred its guests from 100 rooms of its hotel.
"Today we transferred occupants of 65 rooms, and yesterday we transferred some 35 occupants to other hotels,” he said, adding that they are trying to hold talks with the union at Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) as soon as the union agrees.
"We have requested the management to adjust Rs 1,600 increment on our monthly allowance and basic salary but the management disagreed and decided to close the hotel,” said president of the UCPN-Maoist affiliated trade union Nabin Rawat.
"We are ready to hold talks but the management itself is not interested to solve problems," he said, adding that the management itself disagreed on their demands and cancelled the bookings and shifted the guests to other hotels.
"We are working at the hotel without any creating any disturbance but it is the management that is trying to create problems,” he blamed.
The union had asked the hotel management to increase Rs 1,100 to their monthly allowance and Rs 500 to their basic salary. The workers are getting Rs 3,500 allowance and Rs 4,600 basic salary currently.
The hotel employs a total 100 staffs and 22 managers and executive level staff. The hotel management had increased the staff salary after an agreement was signed between Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the trade union.

Non-economic hurdles hit growth

Challenging security situation and continuing tensions between employers and employees hit the business and economic environment in the country, according to the entrepreneurs.
Introducing the programme as a platform to identify the root causes of conflict and possible solutions from among stakeholders, president of NBI Padma Jyoti said, welcoming the participants in the interaction organised by National Business Initiative (NBI) Nepal with support from International Alert here today.
Former finance secretary and economic advisor to the Prime Minister Rameshwor Prasad Khanal pointed out the need of professionalism among employers and employees, sound working environment, and transparency in doing business as perquisites for better industrial relations. He further stressed the need of third party interventions and mitigation to solve industrial problems.
Representatives of the business sector, trade unions, security providers, and international agencies took part in the discussion.
The facilitator of the programme Ranjit Acharya brought into attention the issues related to security and labour to further elaborate its impacts. Manish Kumar Agrawal of FNCCI pointed out the scarcity of qualified arbitrators and mediators as major challenges and urged all parties to adopt a rather long-term perspective to achieve mutual goals. He urged to link wages and benefits with productivity to increase incentives for high performance and establish a better working culture.
GEFONT president Bishnu Rimal and other trade union representatives urged all stakeholders to create a better understanding of joint objectives like stability and employment creation and to build trust instead of blaming each other. Private sector representatives stressed the effective implementation and adherence to policies by all concerned parties. They also highlighted the need to go beyond the symptoms and create solutions to the deeply rooted causes of conflict. Both private sector representatives and trade union leaders agreed that the effective implementation of their 11 point agreement would be a major step to improve industrial relations.
The second session began with a presentation of a representative of the privates sector which highlighted the business downturn due to the present state of insecurity in the country.
Superintendent of police Rabindra Prasad Sharma highlighted the security provisions made by the state and asked all the stakeholders to cooperate with national security force to improve the situation. During the floor discussion, the private sector representatives mentioned that they were willing to join hands with state security force to improve the security situation.
Economist Dr Chiranjibi Nepal warned that any delay in improving security provisions amplifies the likeliness of capital and business being moved abroad with the consequent risk of increasing numbers of unemployment, frustration, and further conflict.
“However, if the importance of the private sector is acknowledged and the business environment improved,” he said, adding that Nepal has enormous potential to achieve similar economic growth patterns of India and China.

Workers demand equal rise in salary

Splinter trade union of UCPN-Maoist has demanded a minimum salary of Rs 12,400 to make it equal to that of civil servants.
The government has in the budget for the current fiscal year increased the lary of civil servants -- on July 15 -- by 21.95 per cent.
Secretary of the UCPN-Maoist and coordinator of ANTUF Posta Bahadur Bogati demanded to increase monthly salary to Rs 12,400 and daily wage to Rs 650. "Minimum wage must be increased to Rs 12,400 to make the salary equal to the civil servant according to the new rise they got in the current fiscal year's budget," he said.
Though, Jamma Kattel led ANTUF, along with GEFONT and NTUC, is still in favour of March 24 agreement but the splinter trade unions of UCPN-Maoist added further demands in minimum wage after the salary hike of civil servants in budget 2011-12.
All Nepal Security Workers Association has also joined the bandwagon in agitation from Tuesday demanding implementation of minimum wage according to April 16.
Nearly a dozen trade unions are in agitation since July 21 and others are following to pressure the government and employers for their salary hike.
Ten trade unions, signatory of April 16 agreement with Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, have urged the government to implement agreement in words. The ministry had agreed to hike monthly salary to Rs 6,200 and daily wage to Rs 231 following two-week long strike in Sunsari-Morang and Hetauda-Birgunj industrial corridors.
It had also published the hike in the gazette but the empoyers moved to the Court for the stay order and the Court also issued stay order agains the Gazette that was published unilaterally by the government bypassing the committee under the Labour Ministry, that can only decide on the salary hike.
Two fractions of CPN-Maoist affiliated trade union, All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF), and small trade unions close to Madhesi political parties were in April 16 agreement while ANTUF led by Shalikram Jamma Kattel along with the CPN-UML and Nepal Congress affiliated trade unions had already signed an agreement with employers on March 24.
Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC), General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) and ANTUF had agreed to hike workers salary to Rs 6,100 and daily wage Rs 226 in negotiation with employers– Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Confederation of Nepalese Industries –on March 24. The agreement has introduced social security provision for workers for the first time. However, the government endorsed April l6 agreement in national gazette on May 23 hiking the salary by Rs 100. The employers and three major trade unions, those hold over 80 per cent industrial sector workers are against the government's unilateral decision of April 16.
FNCCI had filed a case against the government decision in minimum wage and got stay order from Supreme Court on June 3. Meanwhile, Independent Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Union filed counter petition on July 14 seeking reversal of the stay order and order to implement minimum wage published in national Gazette. “We are stick to April 16 agreement and it should be implemented in words,” said Badri Bajagai, coordinator of a fraction of ANTUF.
According to him, they will go on indefinite strike from July 31, if employers do not obey the national Gazette.

Multilateral institutions need reform

The multilateral institutions and development banks need to reform.

Dinesh Bhattarai, Permanent Representative and ambassador of Nepal in Geneva, speaking on behalf of the least developed countries (LDCs), today said the opening session of the weeklong Trade and Development Commission, "the current economic and financial crisis has exposed the limitations and weaknesses of the international financial institutions, and necessitated the deep reform of multilateral institutions and development banks."

He also called for greater emphasis on agricultural development, infrastructure development, poverty reduction, and steps to ensure food and energy security in the globe's poorest countries.

'Business as usual is not an option' as a fragile recovery in the world economy takes hold, UNCTAD's secretary general said addressing on the occasion.

Secretary general Supachai Panitchpakdi said that "moving out of a crisis of such magnitude offers a rare historical chance for change, a momentum for reform. New development paths" are needed based on diversifying developing countries economies, on 'a pragmatic balance' between the roles of the market and government policies, and on "reorienting international trade, financial, and monetary cooperation towards more equitable, sustainable, and coherent global governance systems."

Recovery cannot depend solely on climbing demand in industrialised nations for foreign goods, Supachai told the meeting. Developing countries should look increasingly to 'South-South' trade -- that is, to one another - for market opportunities. "This is not unrealistic, given that many developing countries have performed relatively better and survived the crisis with less damage than in previous recessions," he said.

The secretary general similarly called for "integrating the Southern perspective more explicitly" into reforms to the global financial and other governance systems being considered by the Group of 20 industrialised and developing nations. And he stressed an UNCTAD message of recent years: that improving the "productive capacities" of developing countries -- that is, their abilities to produce goods and services of greater sophistication, and in greater variety -- is vital for making stable economic progress, creating jobs, and raising living standards.

Supachai noted that global trade contracted by about 12 per cent last year, and that global unemployment, according to the International Labour Office (ILO), exceeded 200 million.

Rodolfo Reyes, Ambassador of Cuba to the United Nations Office and Other International Organisations at Geneva, speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, told the meeting that "Globalisation and liberalisation without adequate and effective regulation at the national and international levels, and without attention to development concerns, can lead to detrimental effects on the financial and real economies, as well as on peoples' lives and the environment."

A representative of Egypt, speaking on behalf of the African Group of countries, urged "greater emphasis on the need for boosting the economic diversification of developing countries and the enhancement of their services and industrial sectors."

The Commission, which continues through May 7, went on in its afternoon session to explore the theme of recovery and change in a debate on "successful trade and development strategies for mitigating the impact of the global economic and financial crisis."

Later in the week, the Commission will review the outcomes of UNCTAD expert meetings held on such topics as commodities and development; services and trade; South-South cooperation; transport and trade facilitation; competitive law and policy; 'green' and rural energy technologies; and productive capacity-building.

Maoist, UML unions bid to shut Gokarna resort

Two trade unions of Gokarna Forest Resort — one affiliated to UCPN (Maoist) and the other owing allegiance to CPN (UML) — today created obstacles in the operation of the resort and plan to shut it down if their demands were not met.

"The unions did not let us operate the generator during load shedding hours," said Suman Sachdev, director of the resort. He also blamed the central trade unions for encouraging the local unions to create disturbances in the resort, as according to him it could gain them "political clout". "Otherwise, why would they create trouble," asked the angry director of the Singapore-based company that has invested over Rs 1,000 million in Nepal and is providing 230 permanent and 150 temporary jobs.

The unions have been demanding 40 per cent raise in the basic salary and 100 per cent raise in dearness allowance, which is against the agreement reached between the Hotel Association of Nepal and six central trade unions affiliated to the political parties, including UCPN-M and UML. They had agreed not to strike for the raise.

"The agreement validated by the Supreme Court has to be respected," Sachdev said, adding that the local unions — at the behest of central unions — put illegal banner at the gate of the resort. "After repeated requests, they did not honour the agreement reached between the HAN and the six central trade unions, we wanted the labour department to intervene and sort out the matter," he added. "But the labour department and the ministry did nothing to help operate the resort smoothly," Sachdev said.

The resort management and unions held discussions today in the presence of Director General of the Labour Department. "Following today’s discussions, the DG said he was helpless as the unions were too aggressive," he said, adding that if by tomorrow noon, the matter was not sorted out the management would move the guests to another place.

Ramesh Pant, president of All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers’ Union — the UCPN-M affiliated trade union that looks after hotels and restaurants — said they were ready to sit for another round of talks tomorrow.

"There will be a tri-partite meeting tomorrow," he said, adding that the agreement between the HAN and trade unions has expired. However, HAN executive director Madhav Ohm Shrestha said the association stood by the agreement between HAN and trade unions.

Industry captains root for apolitical trade unions

Industry captains and trade unions, akin to people from all walks of life, have come up with a slew of recommendations to be incorporated in the new Constitution. And, the Constitutional Committee (CC), headed by veteran CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, is intently poring over the suggestions these days.
Joint Trade Union Coordination Centre (JTUCC), a conglomerate of labour unions, vows to protect workers' rights.
Yesterday, six major trade unions, affiliated to various political parties and Confederation of Professionals-Nepal (CoNEP), handed over their input to CC chairman Nepal.
While, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) are all for safeguarding the duties and responsibilities of industrial and manufacturing sectors.
FNCCI's statement, meanwhile, has queered the pitch for the unions. CNI, too, agrees with this observation. "Trade unions that are affiliated to political parties shouldn't have any role to play," said FNCCI, an umbrella organisation of Nepali private sectors.
Perhaps, the hardening of stand stems from bitter labour disputes in the recent past. Entrepreneurs are of the opinion that unions, which owe their allegiance to parties, are tough nuts to crack. To make matters worse, there is an overriding fear of intervention from political parties, bordering on militant trade unionism.
As a concept — apolitical trade union — seems far fetched under present circumstances. But, at the same time, there is a dire need for one to address the genuine grievances of labourers. This is largely because it will not become a tool for the party to fulfil its "vested interests".
Bishnu Rimal, president of General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (Gefont) — affiliated to the ruling CPN-UML — disagrees with the business community's perception.
"An individual has every right to pursue an ideology. It should not be misconstrued through a political prism," he reasoned. He went on to elucidate the contrasting history of labour movements in Nepal and Europe.
While, labour struggle led to the birth of parties in Europe, the contrary holds good for Nepal.
Kush Kumar Joshi, president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), has a different take on the role of unions. "They should act as a conduit between industries and workers. Settling of internal disputes and fostering good industrial relations should be their primary tasks. But, once they have a political mandate, the parties' guidelines start dictating their policies and actions," he explained.
Joshi pointed out that there were industries galore, which were operating sans unions' pulls and pressures.
He has a copybook approach to the issue.
"A union has to look after labourers' rights. It will have a role to play only if the labour laws are manipulated and subsequently workers were denied of their rightful dues," he signed off.
The ever muscle-flexing and high-handedness of the politically-affiliated trade unions have been, at times, headache for the parties themselves.
“The parties should either be able to tame their militant trade unions or depoliticise them,” said CA member and CNI president Binod Kumar Chaudhary. “Both should be left to their own devices. Political exercise is simply not enough for the nation to make progress in this fast-changing world. This is a critical moment in the history of the nation. The whole world is watching the political parties. Whether they stand for a prosperous Nepal or let the unions hold sway,” he added.
The new Constitution is a stepping-stone to the New Nepal. “In that light, the Constitution should ensure that economic benefits reach one and all. And, that’s the only way one can build a well and truly inclusive society,” said Chaudhary,.

What FNCCI wants in the new Constitution?
Economic liberalisation
Rule of Law
Right to Property
Safeguard of goods and services
Eradication of corruption
Right to economic rights
Government should not nationalise any industry, trade or business
Right to natural resources and equitable distribution
Free market economy

What CNI wants in the new Constitution?
All sectors should be open for the people as a civil right, save those banned by the government’s Gazette notification
The government should not nationalise any industry, trade or business
Private sector should act as an equal opportunity employer
Right to property
Painless exit for business community if it deems so
Trade unions should be apolitical
Right to do business sans any kind of interference
Public Institutes should be privatised
The government should adopt private sector-friendly policies to boost growth
Free market economy
The government’s policies should attract foreign investment, technology, skill and knowledge
The government should ensure more bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements in sync with the current trend of globalisation
The government should establish a separate commercial court to settle cases regarding industry, trade and commerce

What JTUCC wants in the new Constitution?
Right to trade union and group bargaining, social security and justice
Ban on child-labour
Right to employment
A 10 per cent-fixed quota for labourers in all policy-making agencies
Workers representation must in bodies that have employers as well
Labour Senate (Labour Parliament) should be established as an umbrella body of all labour organisations
Formation of National Labour Commission to settle all labour disputes

Minister's sermon to guard against flight of capital

The Maoist-led government plans to come down heavily on militant trade unionism, which is having an adverse impact on the industries.
"If there is regular disturbance in the industrial sector, then there will be a flight of capital soon," Lekhraj Bhatta, Minister for Labour and Transport Management, said here today. "The government is mulling over banning strikes. Talks are the best way to resolve any forms of dispute," he said.
According to the minister, hectic parleys are on to reopen the padlocked industries. Bhatta's potion for stir-happy unions: The bodies should inform the companies a good 12 hours in advance before they announce unilateral closure.
Some three dozen industries in the Birgunj-Pathlaiya trade corridor are closed since last week. The ongoing strike is a fall out over the vexed minimum wage issue. The government has hiked it from Rs 3,300 to Rs 4,600 (Rs 3,050 as basic salary and Rs 1,550 as dearness allowance).
The government-affiliated trade unions, including the ruling Maoists' body, have ensured the closure. They are demanding an across-the-board increase in monthly salary for all workers, irrespective of their wages and designations, flouting the government order.
The industrialists have been crying foul of the unions' move, dubbing it 'illegitimate'. But, the stir-hardened unions are firmly standing their ground.
They claim that the agreement inked between the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and various union bodies is inadvertently got distorted in the official Gazette.
Though, there seems to be no confusion over the basic salary figure, problem persists as far as dearness allowance and allowance are concerned.
The unions maintain that the Gazette states 'salary and allowances will be adjusted' -- instead of salary and dearness allowance -- hiked only after January 15, 2008, as agreed by the two parties on November 30.
Seven trade unions including Maoists-affiliated All Nepal Federation of Trade Union, UML's GEFONT, NC-affiliated Nepal Trade Union Congress today issued a release, stating that the confusion over the dearness allowance is on thanks to 'distortion' in the Gazette. "It is hampering industrial environment," stated the release. They urged the government to rectify the anomalies at the earliest to ensure industrial growth and output.

Transport fare to go down
KATHMANDU: Minister for Labour and Transport Management Lekhraj Bhatta has promised to reduced transport fares by seven to 10 per cent in a couple of days. But the pledge rings hollow in the light of his inability to implement the revised fare-structure deal that he had sealed with transport entrepreneurs. At that point, the fares were slashed by six per cent in diesel-run vehicles and seven per cent in petrol-operated ones. "This time round, those who are found guilty of flouting the government's directive will be hauled up. Their route permit will be cancelled," he threatened. But private transport operators are in no mood to relent. They are arbitrarily charging the commuters despite the cut in fuel prices by Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) as many as three times.

Big industrial houses in eye of minimum wage storm

Militant trade unions are holding the nascent industries to ransom. Contrary to the government's tall talks on investor-friendly moves, the situation on the ground reveals a disturbing picture, especially on the Birgunj-Parsa corridor in the Tarai, where lots of industries are sufering the frequent labour disputes.
Unions have closed down at least two dozen industries, including Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd, a multinational company (MNC), today. The demand: salary hike for all employees. The result: the state exchequer is being deprived of millions daily. And leading the anti-industry assault is none other than the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF).
The industrialists are pleading helplessness in the face of unions' sponsored stir. The demand, insist business houses, are illegal since the workers are being paid in accordance with the minimum salary slab fixed by the government.
"We have agreed to comply with the minimum wage of Rs 4,600. Earlier, it used to be Rs 3,300. But, all the workers are demanding a similar raise, which is simply unacceptable," said Sanjeeva Keshava, chief executive officer, Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd. "The flat raise of Rs 1,300 to all is what they are demanding."
Badri Bajagain, vice-president, ANTUF, rubbished the charges. "We want a minimum salary fixed by the government, which has the following components; basic salary Rs 3,050 and Rs 1,550 dearness allowance that adds up to a consolidated sum of Rs 4,600," maintained Bajagain.
"We aren't targeting all and sundry. Of the 350 medium and large scale industries in the corridor, 70 per cent have fallen in line with our demand," he said. He also alleged that some big industrial houses are still getting away by paying Rs 2,200 as basic salary.
"It is in clear violation of the agreement reached on November 30. Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), an umbrella organisation of Nepali private sector, and representatives of six trade unions were party to that accord. As per the agreement, if any company has hiked salaries of late, then it will be adjusted in line with the present accord," added Bajagain.
Interestingly, the accord doesn't specify about the hike earmarked for higher salary holders.
"We have shut down all those companies, which refused to implement the agreement," said Dinesh Rai, central member, GEFONT, UML-affiliated union. He is also the president of Nepal Independent Workers' Union (NIWU).
Bishnu Rimal, vice-president, GEFONT, tried to deflect his union's involvement in the ongoing stir. "We have urged them to hold talks and come to an amicable settlement," reasoned Rimal.
Meanwhile, Nepali Congress-affiliated Nepal Trade Union Congress has also thrown its lot behind the rival bodies.