Nepal, UAE sign labour agreement

Nepal and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today signed labour agreement. Labour Minister Gokarna Bista and Human Resource Minister of UAE Nasser Thani Al Hamli signed the agreement – during the centenary celebration of the International Labor Organisation (ILO) being held in Geneva in Switzerland – on behalf of their respective governments.
According to the new deal, the employers will have to bear all the expenses for selection and recruitment of workers as per the agreement. “The workers can look for alternative jobs, if they become unemployed due to weaknesses on the part of employers,” it reads, adding that there will be no discrimination against workers on wage, overtime, work environment and access to justice, apart from equal treatment for migrant workers coming from all the countries. “Workers will be able to keep all the documents of individual identity including passports.”
The UAE is the fourth preferred destination for Nepali workers. The two countries have felt the need to revise the agreement according to the changed context.

Govt to allow only one trade union in industries

There will be only one trade union in industries soon.

The government has decided to conduct elections among the existing trade unions to authenticate the only one trade union in industries that is expected to improve the management and labour relation.

The second meeting of Nepal Business Forum (NBF) held today under the chair of caretaker prime minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has taken the move for only one authorised trade union to give help create conducive to industrial environment. Currently, there are up to five trade unions in industries.

The private sector has been demanding only one trade union in an industry. According to them, labour disputes exist in all industries including multinationals due to different trade unions with differing political ideologies within one organisation. “Having only one trade union will help solve most of the industrial disputes,” said chief secretary Leela Mani Paudyal.

Trade Union Act and Labour Act have a provision of only one trade union in an industry or business enterprise. The NBF meeting has proposed to hold elections within July 2013, according to the existing laws.

The meeting also decided to build a legal framework to open the capital market for foreign investors. There is a legal provision for Non-Resident Nepalis to invest in the domestic capital market but its progress has been too slow. The legal provision will be developed in coordination with Nepal Rastra Bank and Securities Board of Nepal.

NBF has decided to include garments in the export potential list. Nepal Trade Integration Strategy has included 19 items in the list. Garment will be included in the list that will allow it to get trade facilitation support under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) policy.

The meeting has decided to draft a directive of Technology Development Fund. Ministry of Finance will provide Rs 10 million for the fund that will be operated under private public partnership.

Similarly, NBF meeting also decided to form a separate mechanism to monitor cooperatives. Currently, Department of Cooperatives and its offices have been doing the job.

In the meeting, Bhattarai said that the country will be guided by economic agenda hereafter. “The government will promote economic nationalism to build a prosperous Nepal,” he said. He also informed that the government will bring the regular budget shortly. Homework for a regular budget is going on, he added.

Social pensions key to protecting elderly, reducing poverty

As Asia's population ages, developing countries in the region should explore social pensions that provide cash benefits to vulnerable older citizens who are most in need of a safety net, according to a new publication from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“Social pensions can help older people gain access to health care, and enhance their status and social standing,” said director general of ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department S Chander. “They also help the most vulnerable, particularly women and widows who often lack savings or any form of social security, and face discrimination in terms of employment, inheritance and property laws.”

The study – Social Protection for Older Persons: Social Pensions in Asia – looks at various non-contributory social pension schemes in the region and suggests that even providing a small bit of assistance can go a long way to reducing poverty.

Case studies from Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam illustrate that a social pension programme with low benefits to many beneficiaries is more beneficial than high benefits to few beneficiaries. Asia’s ageing population is a development challenge; since caring for the elderly can be costly and economic growth and productivity depend on a labour force regularly replenished with young adult workers.

Only a minority of Asia's elderly receive pension benefits. Indeed, only about one-quarter of the workforce is covered by contributory pensions in China, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. Less than one in 10 are covered by contributory pensions in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The study found that targeting social pensions to income or poverty levels – as opposed to universal coverage – makes it difficult to identify eligible beneficiaries and can lead to mismanagement and favouritism.

Social pensions can be attractive to policy makers in countries where national budgets are tight and poverty rates are high, as the beneficiary group is clearly defined and liabilities are simple to track.

Nepal can create more jobs investing in green economy

Nepal is among the countries that the highest ratio of decent jobs per million dollar of investment from green investments.
"Nepal, Indonesia and Ghana have the highest ratio of decent jobs per million dollars of investment with labour intensive economies benefiting from green investments," said the International Trade Union Confederation urging governments to drive investment of at least two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the green economy in the wake of independent economic analysis forecasting the potential for green jobs growth.
The Millennium Institute green investment model shows how new investments of two per cent of GDP in each of the next five years in 12 countries could create up to 48 million new jobs. "Middle income economies including Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, Bulgaria could create up to 19 million jobs over five years," it said, adding that some 28 million jobs could be created in developed economies in Australia, Germany, Spain and the USA over five years.
For the first time economists have used the number of jobs that can be directly created from investments as the key indicator to analyse the impact of the green economy in 12 countries including Nepal and seven industries; energy, construction, transport, manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and water.
The job creation forecasts refer to direct employment in each country and industry, these new jobs would also generate further employment growth with indirect jobs when taking the multiplier effect into account.
The economists have demonstrated how public and private investment in the green economy can create hundreds of millions of decent green jobs, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation Sharan Burrow said, adding that the governments must set targets for green jobs and provide the legislative and regulatory conditions so workers can have secure jobs, living wages and creating a healthy society and environment.
The International Trade Union Confederation and the Millennium Institute have established the first ‘green job creation benchmark’ providing a guide to the jobs creation potential of selected industries, with the number of jobs per million dollars invested.
“The outlook for transitioning to a greener economy with decent work will benefit workers, business, national economies and future generations,” added Burrow, who is meeting governments, business and workers in Brazil, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Nepal and Germany ahead of the G20 Summit and Rio + 20 Summit in June, where world leaders must make commitments on green growth and decent job creation.
Burrow will be holding meetings with government, business and workers in Nepal on May 12.
The Millennium Institute has analysed Nepal, Germany, Spain, Bulgaria, Brazil, Dominican Republic, USA, South Africa, Ghana, Tunisia, Indonesia, Australia in its report.

Textile entrepreneurs want to link productivity, wages

Textile entrepreneurs requested the government to create a link between the productivity of the workers and their wages, at a time when a new Labour Act is being prepared by the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management to replace the existing Act that was implemented in 1992.
It would help entrepreneurs to fix salaries of workers on the basis of output of their work, if a provision to give wages on the basis of productivity is mentioned in the new Labour Law, chairman of Jyoti Group Padma Jyoti said, during an interaction organised by Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) here in the Valley today.
Jyoti Group has several industries including spinning mills.
The entrepreneurs are complaining of rising production cost due to hike in salary, despite the productivity has been taking a plunge.
At present, salaries in both formal and informal sectors are determined through negotiations between the trade unions and the management. "But the procedure overlooks productivity factor and it only fuels price rise, without any concrete effort to improve quality of output," the employers said, adding that continuation of existing practice would result in giving rewards to non-performing employees, who become liability for the firms.
"It would finally lead to less labour productivity and give bad image for the country in the global market," they said.
The employers also suggested that some limit needs to be imposed on the workers right to collective bargaining through trade unions for resolution of several disputes, including those related to pay-scale.
Employers also gave a call for framing a separate law for export-oriented industries, including handicraft sector and readymade garments. "It should have provisions to ensure that production in such industries remain unaffected throughout the year," they urged.
In recent years, domestic ready garment sector has not been doing well but in the first five months of the current fiscal year, the country witnessed a 43.8 per cent growth in readymade garments exports compared to the same period last fiscal year, according to the central bank data.

Hotel Vaishali reopens after two weeks

Hotel Vaishali resumed its operation after two weeks days as management-workers disputes came to end with mutual agreement.
After the agreement, hotel management finally resumed its operation today. “We are pleased with the decision that reopen hotel after 20 days of closure,” said managing director of the hotel, Bishal Kumar. Workers who wanted to rejoin the work starts their service immediately after the agreement.
“We got a resignation letter from the three members of the agitating workers’ union,” informed Kumar. According to him,there were 85 hotel workers who were against the programme of the workers’ union.
The workers’ union at the hotel had disturbed daily operation and the hotel management had shutdown on December 8. Nabin Raut president of the worker’s union at Hotel Vaishali along with other two members that is Nabraj Khatiwada and Amrit Bhandari gave their resignation letter to the management.
“We have added Rs 500 from the allowance to the basic salary of the workers and have also agreed to provide bonus to them,” said Kumar. The hotel will take its bookings from December 26. The dispute between workers' union and management of Thamel-based Hotel Vaishali has started on December 5 in salary and benefits issues.

Call to punish ultra-leftist trade unions

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has urged the government to take legal action against the ultra-leftist and Madhesi trade unions that are protesting the landmark agreement between government, trade unions and employers on Friday. Eight trade unions — including Badri Bajagai faction of All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) — have threatened to go on strike immediately after Dashain against the decision of Central Labour Advisory Committee.
All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) is the sister wing of UCPN-Maoist that is leading the government currently.
The committee headed by Prime Minister Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai as labour minister held on Friday had endorsed March 24 agreement between FNCCI and three major trade unions – General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), National Trades Union Congress and ANTUF. The Labour advisory committee meeting has decided to bring draft of Social Security Bill within three month and table in legislative parliament.
But the Prime Minister Bhattarai’s own cadres are against the agreement and threatened to go to street after Dashain.
The 11-point agreement had provisions of ‘No Work No Pay’, ‘Hire and Fire’, and ban on strike for the period of four years, including the social security of the employees.
The umbrella organisation of private sector has also urged the trade unions and employers to take the decision as positively as it would help build better labour-management relation.
“The government has endorsed March 24 agreement in good spirit for the industrial growth, so all the parties should take it positively,” the FNCCI said, showing serious concern on forceful closure of National Shop and other industries from unsatisfied trade unions. “The country’s economy is on the verge of collapse,” it said, asking trade unions to be responsibly.
The Bajagai led ANTUF faction — close to UCPN-Maoist leader Kiran Baidhya — and seven other trade unions close to Madhesi parties have been demanding not to endorse ‘No Work No Pay’ and four years long industrial peace period. “It violates individual rights to protest,” Bajagai said, urging the government — led by his own party — to correct the decision and enforce April 16 agreement signed between Ministry of Labour and Transport Management. Though, there is little difference between two agreements in minimum wage, the March 24 agreement is more progressive as it has included social security for workers.
The March 24 agreement has hiked workers monthly salary to Rs 6,100 and the later agreement had added Rs 100 more. In daily wage, two agreements have difference of five rupees as April 16 agreement has hiked daily wage to Rs 231.

Trade unions oppose ‘No Work No Pay’

Trade unions affiliated to ruling UCPN-Maoist and Madhesi parties criticised the government’s nod to ‘No Work No Pay’ and commitment not to strike for next four years and announced to protest against it after Dashain.
Central Labour Advisory Committee meeting under chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr Babu Ram Bhattrai yesterday has endorsed the provisions to maintain industrial peace.
The decision is against workers rights to strike, a joint press statement of eight trade unions read, adding that adaptation of ‘No Work No Pay’, ‘Hire and Fire’ and banning strikes shows that Dr Bhattrai government is not worker-friendly.
The trade unions, signatory of April 16 agreement with Ministry of Labour and Transport Management, are against the decision.
“We will protest after Dashain,” a member of All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) Badri Bajagai, said adding that they are discussing the nature of protest.
ANTUF divided into three factions led by Bajagai and Lal Dwoj Newang one year ago following dispute with ANTUF leader Shalikram Jamma Kattel.
However, the UCPN-Maoist has banned all factions and appointed Posta Bahadur Bogati as coordinator of ANTUF to solve dispute some five months ago.

Labour committee endorses minimum wage

The government has today endorsed 11 point agreement between employers and major trade unions including 'No Work No Pay' and social security to workers. Meeting of Central Labour Advisory Committee held today under Prime Minister Dr Babu Ram Bhattrai leadership agreed on four points to resolve tension in industrial sector.
PM Bhattrai has been also serving as Minister for labour and Transport Management, who would chair the committee.
Most of the problems in industrial sector related to labour is expected to be solved, said Krishna Hari Puskar Karma joint-spokesperson of the ministry. According to him, the meeting endorsed March 24 agreement between Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and three major trade unions– General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF).
In the meeting, the government committed to introduce Social Security Act within three months."It is a great achievement for trade unions," Bishnu Rijal, president of GEFONT said, adding that formation of tripartite committee to sort out labour dispute is yet another milestone. "We have agreed to set up a committee of employers, trade unions and the government to solve labour disputes," he said.
The committee that will act as dispute settlement mechanism has been proposed from central level to district level. The meeting also agreed to build a Minimum Wage Board, committed to implement No Work No pay and enforce industrial peace year for next four years.
FNCCI, the employers organisation, welcomed the decision as it has addressed their issues. "Employers are happy and withdrawing the case from Supreme Court," said Pashupati Murarka, president of Employers Council of FNCCI. He also urged the government to strictly implement the agreement.
FNCCI had filed a petition against the government in Supreme Court as the government neglected their March 24 agreement and published Ministry of Labour and Transport Management's April 16 agreement with minor trade unions including ANTUF splinter ones, unilaterally in the government gazette.
There was minor difference in minimum wage in two agreements but the later has no provision of social security, No Work No Pay and four years long no strike deal. The March 24 agreement had fixed Rs 6,100 as minimum wage of workers whereas April 16 agreement increased that to Rs 6,200. The first agreement had Rs 226 as daily wages but the second one has Rs 231.
Meanwhile, the committee has fixed minimum wage of tea garden workers. The committee has increased workers minimum wage by Rs 1,064 and daily wage to Rs 158.

South Asia needs more, better jobs

South Asia has seen an accelerated job growth and a substantial decrease in poverty over the past three decades, second only to East Asia, according to the World Bank.
The region will be the largest contributor to the global workforce over the next two decades, the report released today said, adding that more and better jobs are needed to sustain growth and reduce poverty.
The report, 'More and Better Jobs in South Asia', the region — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — will need to add between one and 1.2 million additional jobs every month for the next twenty years, equivalent to about 40 per cent of the increase in the global labour force.
Reforms will have to be accelerated, if the region is going to meet the challenge of providing better jobs for them. "The key asset to South Asia is its people. South Asia has a young population and the second lowest female participation rate in the labour force," it added.
"The demographic transition will result in more than 350 million people to enter the working age population over the next two decades,” World Bank South Asia vice president Isabel Guerrero, said, adding that creating jobs for them will contribute to growth, equity, and peace in the region.
South Asia created nearly 800,000 jobs per month between 2000 and 2010. However, despite growth, the region is still home to the largest number of the world’s poor — a half billion people. Since labour is the primary asset of the poor, having more and better jobs is the key employment challenge facing the region. "The number of additions to the labour market over the next few decades will result in a 25 per cent to 50 per cent increase over the historical average,” co-author of the report Pablo Gottret said, adding that going forward the region faces an enormous employment challenge, but its demography can help if countries choose to reform.
Education attainment remains low and more education facilitates labour mobility to more productive employment, from rural agriculture to rural-based industry and service jobs and from urban casual work to urban-based regular wage and salaried industry and service jobs.
"It’s not only the quantity of jobs but the quality of the jobs being created in the region that is relevant,” chief economist for the World Bank’s South Asia Region Kalpana Kochhar, said, adding that there has not been much change in the composition of employment, that is between casual labourers, the self-employed and regular and salaried wage earners, but there has been an increase in real wages and poverty reduction within these categories.
However, the share of wage employment and high-end self-employment are stagnant.Poor nutrition is yet one of the reasons in lower productivity of the labour force. "Despite significant progress in recent years, the contrast between increasing demand for higher levels of education and the educational attainment of the labour force could not be starker," co-author of the report, Reema Nayar, said, adding that education reform is a key.

Fire and Ice opens

Fire and Ice — one of the most popular restaurants in Kathmandu — opened today after six weeks of closure due to workers' dispute.
During a staff meeting on August 10 almost all the staff on duty led by five workers walked off the job without any warning protesting the appointment of the evening manager by the management. There were still customers waiting to be served and they could not finish their meal. The situation escalated when the restaurant management was almost ready to go home at around l0 pm when one worker attacked my HHR manager," according to Annamaria Forgione, managing director of Fire and Ice Fire that first opened its doors in January 1995. "The others joined in, two people got hurt. It is almost impossible to continue to run the restaurant with the pressure of constant bullying."
The militant trade unionism supported by political parties and weak law and order situation hurt the investors' confidence recently.
The management sought government help in solving the dispute to reopen the restaurant. The restaurant is providing employment for 71 staff in total including cooks, waiters, barmen, cleaners, guards, store keepers, office employees, and HHR manager.

Nepal slips eight positions down

Economic Freedom of the World Report 2011

Nepal has slipped eight positions down to be ranked at 129th among the 141 economies with a score of 5.50 in this year’s Economic Freedom of the World report released here today. Last year, Nepal was at 121st rank with a score of 5.54.
Over the last one decade economic freedom in Nepal has steadily regressed to 5.50 this year from 5.75 in 2000. Nepal continues to be one of the least free countries in the world in case of economic freedom, according to the report.
"The countries that are economically free out-perform non-free nations in indicators of well being," the report said, adding that Nepal continues to degrade in all the five measured areas of economic freedom; size of government, access to sound money, freedom to trade internationally and Regulation of Credit, Labour, and Business and legal structure and security of property rights.
The Economic Freedom of the World Report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property.
"Nepal has to ensure economic freedom in the Constitution to be a prosperous country," constitutional law expert Dr Bhimarjun Acharya, said, adding that right to property, right to claim compensation and security of investment should be ensured by the Constitution. "The current Constitution lacks economic freedom as it has dangerous clause that empowers the government to confiscate property of any individuals without giving compensation," he added.
Due to lack of investment security, investors' confidence is eroding and there has been no new investment in the country in the last one year.
"Without political settlement the country cannot improve its investment climate," said Prof Dr Bishwambher Pyakurel. "But such reports have to be taken cautiously," he said, adding that the report does not reflect the ground reality.
Agreed Dr Chiranjivi Nepal. "The reality and score in the report does not match," he said, adding that Nepal has scored good marks in Regulation of Credit, Labour and Business but in reality labour dispute is key hurdle in the country.
However, the countries that adopted liberal regime have progressed in economic freedom," Nepal said, adding that only the open market can make a country prosperous.
Among the five indicators, according to the report, Nepal's score has improved in Legal structures and security of property rights to 3.9 from 3.51; Freedom to trade internationally also improved from 5 to 5.40 but score in Size of government has lowered from 6.20 to 6.10; Access to sound money lowered from 6.36 to 6.10 and Regulation of credit, labour and business also lowered from 6.16 to 6.
This year’s publication ranks 141 nations representing 95 per cent of the world’s population for 2009, the most recent year for which data is available. The report also updates data in earlier reports in instances where data have been revised.
It shows that individuals living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy higher levels of prosperity, greater individual freedoms, and longer life spans. The report also contains new research showing the impact of economic freedom on the rates of unemployment and homicide like increases in economic freedom do appear to be associated with decrease in homicide and unemployment rates.
The Report also shows that countries with more economic freedom have substantially higher per-capita incomes, higher growth rates, life expectancy is about 20 years longer, and people living in countries with more economic freedom report more life satisfaction.With fewer regulations, taxes, and tariffs, economic freedom reduces the degree of corruption.
Hong Kong offers the highest level of economic freedom worldwide, with a score of 9.01 out of 10 followed by Singapore (8.68), New Zealand (8.20), Switzerland (8.03), Australia (7.98), Canada (7.81), Chile (7.77), the United Kingdom (7.71), Mauritius (7.67), and the United States (7.60).
Zimbabwe maintains the lowest level of economic freedom with Myanmar, Venezuela, Angola, and Democratic Republic of Congo at the bottom five nations.Economic Freedom of the World report uses 42 different measures to create an index ranking countries around the world based on policies that encourage economic freedom. The cornerstones of economic freedom are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property.
The annual peer-reviewed Economic Freedom of the world report is produced by the Fraser Institute — Canada’s leading public policy think-tank — in cooperation with independent institutes in 80 nations and territories including Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation from Nepal.
The survey is an indicator that attempts to measure the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries are supportive of economic freedom. The indicator has been used in peer-reviewed studies some of which have found a range of beneficial effects of more economic freedom. Economic Freedom of the World index has been more widely used than any other measure of economic freedom, because of its coverage of a longer time period.
The report also revealed that overall levels of economic freedom decreased around the globe. This year’s report shows that the average economic freedom score fell to 6.64 in 2009, the lowest in nearly three decades, from 6.67 in 2008.

South Asian rakings (score)
India — 94 (6.40)
Bangladesh — 103 (6.17)
Sri Lanka — 107 (6.12)
Pakistan — 114 (6.03)
Nepal — 129 (5.50)

Top 10 countries with score
1. Hong Kong (9.01)
2. Singapore (8.68)
3. New Zealand (8.20)
4. Switerland (8.03)
5. Australia (7.98)
6. Canada (7.81)
7. Chile (7.77)
8. United Kingdom (7.71)
9. Mauritius (7.67)
10. United States (7.60)

Bottom 10 countries with score
141. Zimbabwe (4.08)
140. Myanmar (4.16)
139. Venezuela (4.28)
138. Angola (4.76)
137. Democratic Republic of Congo (5.04)
136. Central African Republic (4.88)
135. Guinea-Bissau (5.03)
134. Republic of Congo (5.04)
133. Burundi (5.12)
132. Chad (5.32)

Surya Nepal shuts garment unit

Surya Nepal Garment has closed down from today due to labour problem.
Since 3 PM yesterday (June 14, 2011) the workforce at the Surya Nepal garments factory at Biratnagar took hostage of around thirty managers on duty within the factory premises demanding that the company give them written assurances and guarantees for paying wages for the six days’ strike during last month.
The managers took a principled stand and requested that all managers on duty be immediately released before talks. However, the workforce did not listen and instead threatened and turned hostile.
They kept the managers, including a pregnant woman confined within the factory premises without food and water throughout the night.
After unsuccesful attempts, the company alerted the district security officials and sought their help to release the confined staff.
Today morning, the security officials and police entered the factory premises and tried unsuccessfully to settle the issues with the workforce in releasing the confined staff. The workforce not only refused to release staff but also refused food and water to them.
Finally at three in the afternoon, after a 24 hour siege, the police had to step in to forcibly release of the confined staff and take them to safety, outside the factory premises.
But the workforce started rampage within the factory premises. After the destructive activities of the workers, the police force had again to forcibly evict the rampaging workers from the factory premises.
The company has also discussed with all Trade Union bodies – major and fractional — and they have all denied their involvement in the activity and condemned the attack on Surya Nepal.
The Morang Chamber of Commerce also condemned the attack and has very clearly stated threat the rule ‘No Work, No Pay’ shall be applicable and binding to all.
The Company along with the District authorities and the Morang Chamber of Commerce has termed the strike and confinement of the company managers for over 24 hours without food and water a totally illegal act.Due to the extraordinary situation the company has declared a lockout, said the company.
Surya nepal is one of the largest garment unit in the country.
Earlier, the employers and the three major trade unions have entered into an agreement to implement 'No Work, No Pay', social security for the workers and hike the salary and the daily wages but the UCPN-Maoists splinter faction and some Tarai -based trade unions protested against the agreement.

ILO calls for urgent action against hazardous forms of child labour

World Day Against Child Labour 2011 on June 12

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has -- in its new report on World Day Against Child Labour -- warned that a staggeringly high number of children are still caught in hazardous work – some 115 million of the world’s 215 million child labourers – and called for urgent action to halt the practice.
The report, 'Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do,' cited studies from both industrialised and developing countries indicating that every minute of every day, a child labourer somewhere in the world suffers a work-related accident, illness or psychological trauma.
The report also stated that although the overall number of children aged five to 17 in hazardous work declined between 2004 and 2008, the number aged 15-17 actually increased by 20 per cent from 52 million to 62 million.
"Despite important progress over the last one decade, the number of children in child labour worldwide – and particularly in hazardous work – remains high," ILO director-general Juan Somavia, said, adding that governments, employers and workers must act together to give strong leadership in shaping and implementing the policies and action that can end child labour.
The persistence of child labour is a clear indictment of the prevailing model of growth. "Tackling work that jeopardises the safety, health or morals of children must be a common and urgent priority," he added.
Last year, the ILO’s Global Report on child labour had warned that efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour were slowing down and expressed concern that the global economic crisis could 'further brake' progress toward the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.
"One year on, the ILO remains extremely concerned with the impact of the crisis on children," the report stated, calling for a renewed effort to ensure that all children are in education at least until the minimum age of employment and for countries to establish a hazardous work list as required by ILO child labour Conventions.
It also stated that urgent action is needed to tackle hazardous work by children, who have reached the minimum age but may be at risk in the workplace and calls for training and organising such young workers so that they are aware of risks, rights and responsibilities in the workplace.
Exposure to hazards can have a particularly severe impact on children, whose bodies and minds are still developing late into teenage years, according to the report that looked in detail at six economic sectors -- crop agriculture, fishing, domestic service, mining and quarrying, and street and service industries.
The study noted that the problem of children in hazardous work is not confined to developing countries. Evidence from the US and Europe also point to a high vulnerability of youth to workplace accidents.
Similarly, children have higher rates of injury and death at work than adults, a substantial number of children experience long working hours that significantly increases the risk of injury, the largest number of children in hazardous work is found in Asia and the Pacific, according to the report.
However, the largest proportion of children in hazardous work relative to the overall number of children in the region is in sub-Saharan Africa.
"Most of the decline in the total numbers of children in hazardous work is among girls, over 60 per cent of children in hazardous work are boys, hazardous work is more commonly found in agriculture including fishing, forestry, livestock-herding and aquaculture in addition to subsistence and commercial farming," the ILO report added. "While there is a need to strengthen workplace safety and health for all workers, specific safeguards for adolescents between the minimum age of employment and the age of 18 are needed.
These measures need to be part of a comprehensive approach in which employer and worker organisations and the labour inspectorate have particularly critical parts to play.
So far 173 of the ILO’s 183 Member States have committed themselves to tackling hazardous work by children ‘as a matter of urgency’ by ratifying ILO Convention No 182 -- on the worst forms of child labour -- that refers to hazardous work as work that harms the health, safety and morals children.

Global economic crisis opens up new space for discrimination at work

The global economic and social crisis has led to a higher risk of discrimination against certain groups such as migrant labour despite continuous positive advances in anti-discrimination legislation, according to a new study published today by International Labour Organisation (ILO).
"Economically adverse times are a breeding ground for discrimination
at work and in society more broadly," said ILO director-general Juan Somavia.
"We see this with the rise of populist solutions,” he said, adding that it threatens painstaking achievements of several decades.
The report 'Equality at work: The continuing challenge', cites equality bodies that receive increased numbers of complaints, showing that workplace discrimination has become more varied, and discrimination on multiple grounds is becoming the rule rather than the exception.
The report also warns against a tendency during economic downturns to give lower priority to anti-discrimination policies and workers’ rights in practice. "Austerity measures and cutbacks in the budget of labour administrations and inspection services, and in funds available to specialised bodies dealing with non-discrimination and equality, can seriously compromise the ability of existing institutions to prevent the economic crisis from generating more discrimination and more inequalities”, the report said, adding that the lack of reliable data in this context makes it difficult to assess the exact impact of these measures.
"It therefore calls on governments to put into place human, technical and financial resources to improve data collection on discrimination at the national level," it recommended. The report also noted that new forms of discrimination at work arise while the old challenges remain at best only partially answered.
Though, significant progress has been made in recent decades in advancing gender equality in the world of work, the gender pay gap still exists, with women’s wages being on average 70-90 per cent of men’s, the report highlighted. "Sexual arassment is a significant problem in workplaces. Young, financially dependent, single or divorced women, and migrants are most vulnerable, while men who experience harassment tend to be young, gay or members of ethnic or racial minorities, apart from racism."
Migrant workers face widespread discrimination in access to employment, and many encounter discrimination when employed, including access to social insurance programmes apart from work-related discrimination.
The Global Report recommended a series of steps to combat discrimination including four priority areas, like promotion of the universal ratification and application of the two fundamental ILO Conventions on equality and non-discrimination; the development and sharing of knowledge on the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation; development of the institutional capacity of ILO constituents to more effectively implement the fundamental right of non-discrimination at work; and strengthening of international partnerships with major actors on equality.
"The fundamental right of non-discrimination in employment and occupation for all women and men is part and parcel of decent work policies for sustainable and balanced economic growth and fairer societies,” Somavia said, adding that the right response is to combine policies for economic growth with policies for employment, social protection and rights at work, enabling governments, social partners and civil society to work together, including changing attitudes through education.
The Report is part of a series of studies issued annually on core ILO labour standards and was prepared under the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1998 that focuses on four fundamental principles - freedom of association, elimination of child labour, elimination of forced labour and discrimination.

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.

GLOBAL CRISIS-4: Meltdown hits work destination Qatar

Global financial crisis has hit the construction sector in Qatar -- a country that has been the most favoured destination of Nepali migrant workers -- forcing the sector to halt new recruitment.
Though Nepal's ambassador to Qatar Surya Nath Mishra said Qatar has approved 1,12,000 new visas for Nepalis, data from the Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) tells a different and stark story.
According to the department, only 6,413 Nepalis left for Qatar in the seventh month -- from mid-January to mid-February -- of this fiscal year. In 2008, an average of 3,647 Nepalis left for Qatar and the trend is decreasing in 2009 despite the envoy's assurance that recession will only hit Qatar next year in 2010. Around 95 per cent of the Nepalis employed in Qatar work in the construction sector there, according to the envoy.
Major construction companies in Qatar have halted new projects and that is hitting all Nepali workers directly. In the first seven months of this fiscal year, Qatar absorbed a total of 46,202 Nepali migrant labourers. The number is down from 47,509 during the corresponding period last year.
Qatar presently employs some 2,86,511 Nepali employees, according to official data. It is one of the countries with which Nepal has entered into a bilateral labour agreement. According to the pact, officials from two countries will meet every two years. "The meeting between the officials could help to clarify the confusion," the envoy added.
The bilateral labour accord between Nepal and Qatar came into force from January 20, 2008, ensuring better pay and perks for Nepali workers though the two countries had signed the labour pact in 2005.
The then Labour Minister Ramesh Lekhak and his Qatari counterpart Dr Sultan bin Hassan Al Dhabit Al Dousari had last January signed an addendum protocol -- to formally implement the labour pact inked some two years ago -- in Qatar's capital Doha. According to the protocol, Nepali workers would get paid at par with other overseas employees at around 800 riyals. The initial cost for Nepalis to get employment in Qatar also went down by 50 per cent.
Nepal and Qatar signed the bilateral labour pact on March 21, 2005. The pact -- signed by the then foreign minister Ramesh Nath Panday -- remained inactive because neither side took any initiative to bring it into practice until 2008.
After the pact came into effect, Nepali workers were expected to get remuneration and facilities as specified by the labour law of Qatar. The accord ensured Nepali migrant workers' legal status in accordance with other migrant workers' countries with whom Qatar has signed labour pacts.
Qatar emerged as the most popular destination for most of the unskilled and manual works in construction works. A small number of Nepalis is also working in the service sector like petrol pumps, hotels, restaurants and shopping malls. "One per cent of Nepalis work in the technical sector, 0.5 per cent in service sector, 0.3 per cent in the health sector and 0.2 per cent are self-employed," said Mishra.
Qatar had overtaken Malaysia as the most popular destination for Nepali jobseekers.

Another EPS batch off to South Korea

The 14th batch of Nepali migrant workers left for a much-sought after destination, South Korea, today to work under the Employment Permit System (EPS).
"Every week, a group of workers has been leaving for South Korea," said Laxmi Sharan Ghimire, director at the EPS Section under the Department of Labour and Employment Promotion (DoLEP). Today, 136 Nepalis left for South Korea making it a total of 1,250 of those who have gone there. "The majority of workers is assigned to the manufacturing and agriculture while a few are employed in hotels," he said.
Unlike in the beginning stage, Korean Air flies them directly to South Korea every Monday. Earlier, Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) used to fly them to Bangkok from where Korean Air used to take them to South Korea.
The department had called the airline companies for a bid asking which airlines could fly the selected ones at a cheaper rate to South Korea. Universal Tours and Travels, the GSA of Korean Air, bid the lowest and was handed the job.
After receiving HRD-Korea's final letter with the names of job aspirants, the department had begun flying them to Korea from August 10. Till date, the EPS section at DoLEP has received 1,764 certificates of conformation of visa issuance (CCVI). The name-list that HRD-Korea sent was according to the CCVI list.
Earlier, the job aspirants underwent a 15-day orientation after sailing through the medical tests. As per EPS rules, the first step for employment in South Korea under EPS is the Korean Language Test (KLT) and a subsequent stringent medical test.
"After government sealed an agreement with the Korean government to send the workers under EPS, Nepalis are flying to Korea in $970 (about Rs 63,000)," Ghimire added. Before the manpower agencies used to charge hefty amounts.Meanwhile, 125 manpower agnecies have been blacklisted. Department of Labour has sent them letters asking for clarification and 42 agencies have replied to the department. If their reply is not justified and remaining of 83 not reply within stipulated time, their licence will be terminated.

Nepal, Bahrain ink labour pact

Ramesh Lekhak, minister for Labour and Transport Management and his Bahrain's counterpart Dr Majeed Bin Muhsin Al Alawi — who arrived here in Kathmandu on Sunday on a three-day long official visit leading a nine-member delegation — signed bilateral labour pact on behalf of their respective countries today.
The agreement will now pave way for secured employment opportunities and provide legal recognition to Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf state of Bahrain.
After the signing of the accord, a joint committee will now be set up and branch offices headed by a high government officials will be opened in both the countries, said Keshar Bahadur Baniya, director general at the Department of Labour and Employment Promotion (DoLEP).
The accord will set a legal framework for Nepali migrant workers as it has clearly spelt out requirements needed for the job seekers and recruiting agencies in the source country.
The employers in Bahrain will then be bound to comply with domestic labour laws and provide facilities as per the laws. The accord seeks to protect workers' rights and prevent improper practices by private labour supply agencies which tend to exploit the workers by demanding exaggerated fees, providing false information about their working conditions in host country as well as misleading the employers in Bahrain regarding the workers' qualifications, experiences and documents.
"The government is also thinking of providing training to the job-aspirants," the minister said after the signing ceremony. "However, if thought necessary, the job-seekers can also be given training in Bahrain."
The salary will be fixed in mutual understanding between employer and the employee but it will not be less than $150," Baniya, said adding that the total cost might come to Rs 70,000.
According to DoLEP, in the last nine months, some 1,67,785 Nepalis left Nepal for foreign employment. Qatar is the most preferred destination, while Malaysia saw a decline in Nepali migrants during the period. However, the UAE received 32,453 Nepalis, a 104 per cent rise, during the first nine months.
According to the department, due to the CA elections, the outflux decreased in the month of Chaitra. During the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Bahrain received 2,947 Nepalis. "Informally, around 30,000 Nepalis are currently working in Bahrain. Most of them are unskilled labourers and employed in construction sector," Baniya added.
The government has already entered into similar agreement with South Korea. After the pact with Bahrain, Nepal is also looking forward to sign agreement with Japan.
Labour secretary Shyam Prasad Mainali is leading the Nepali delegation and is scheduled to meet his Japanese counterpart and senior office bearers of the Japan Industrial and Technical Cooperation Organisation (JITCO) during his stay in Japan.

Nepal-Korea ink service commitment pact

Nepal and South Korea today signed service commitment agreement — the final agreement among the three that Nepal has signed with South Korea to send aspirant job-seekers to Korea under EPS programme.
South Korean Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) chief Kim-Young-Dal and Keshar Bahadur Baniya, director general of EPS division under the Ministry of Labour and Transport Management (MoLTM) signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments.
According to the agreement, South Korean government will take Korean Language Proficiency Test (KLPT) and Nepal government will help conduct the exam.
However, the government is planning to give management contract to hold KLPT exam to TU. The exam will be conducted on any Saturday between the last week of February and first week of March. The exam fee will be $30 (around Rs 2000).
Though the exam centres will be at different parts of the country also — to provide easy access to job aspirants from across the country — the test would be conducted by the Koreans and the exam papers will be sent to Seoul. The result will be published from Seoul.
However, one can learn Korean language in the government registered language institutes or self and sit for the KLPT exam. The government has called language institutes to register with the EPS section of ministry to impart the language training. Among the 215 registered institutes, only 171 institutes were qualified. Few language institutes have also not met criteria.
To pass the KLPT, one has to score 120 marks in two subjects — 60 per cent in aggregate in each subjects. The successful applicant will then be enrolled and forwarded to the job seekers' roster in Korea. Upon examining the roster details, HRDC will forward the list to the companies seeking foreign migrant workers.
The employers will select workers from among the recommended ones. Once the workers are selected, the employers will sign labour contract with them and apply for certificate for confirmation of visa issuance.
After that an applicant has to pass through pre-departure process like medical check-up, orientation and training before job. All the cost of a worker will not exceed Rs 1,25,000.
Nepal and South Korea has signed an agreement to send Nepali workers to South Korea in July and in December 11, they have signed implementation agreement.