Employers-employees agree on strike free corridor

Employers and employees in the Bara-Parsa industrial corridor today signed an agreement to make the industrial corridor a strike-free zone.

Concluding that frequent incidents of disputes in the past over wage and collective bargaining had adversely affected the industrial environment, the employers and leaders representing the employees have sealed a 19-point agreement.

Secretary at the home ministry Nabin Ghimire, on the occasion, praised the agreement and asked them to walk the talk. "Lockouts are never a solution to any problem," he said, urging the workers to bring about changes to their actions of resorting to violence like lockouts and vandalism to seek solutions to the problems. 

Ghimire also clarified that the police intervene in disputes between employers and employees only out of compulsion. 

Speaking on the occasion, director general of the Department of Labour Krishna Hari Puskar said that minimum wage fixation committee is holding talks to fix minimum salary and wages.

SEZ key to create more jobs, economic development

Experts opined that Nepal needs Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to maximise creation of new jobs, kick start economic development through investment by foreign and domestic investors, maximise foreign exchange earnings and return on investment to economy.

However, not-regulated and haphazard planning, low industrial base, poor industrial infrastructure, lack of appropriate legislation. limited Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and unfavourable investment climate are the challenges that need to be dealt with for the development of SEZ, said senior economist Dr Pitamber Rawal, at an interaction on 'SEZs-Global experience and Prospects for Nepal' here in the valley today.

Post 1990, Nepal entered into a liberal economic era giving enough room for the private sector in the development of the country. "In the last two decades, we have not yet completed one SEZ," he said adding that the Bhairahawa SEZ will be the first one to be completed in a couple of years.

Dr Rawal blamed too many projects and not demand driven but politically biased decisions for the SEZs taken such a long time to come to operations.

Apart from the nearly completed Bhairahawa SEZ, the feasibility study for two SEZs -- in Panchkhal and Dhangadi -- and pre-fesibility study for five SEZs -- in Jhapa, Kapilvastu, Janakpur, Nuwakot and Jumla -- are underway.

Currently, land acquisition has been a common problem in developing the SEZ, he said.

"The Panchkhal SEZ is affected by the land acquisition problem," secretary at the Ministry of Industry Pratap Pathak. "However, the Finance Ministry has agreed to provide Rs 200 million to expedite the Panchkhal SEZ," he said adding that land acquisition is difficult, especially in areas where many private landowners own small parcels of land.

"Opening of the SEZ to the private sector to invest under Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model, alongwith developing national SEZ strategy, rigorous SEZ feasibility and site selection and linking SEZ planning to national infrastructure and social planning could help realise the SEZ," suggested Investment Climate Programme Manager of IFC Irina Niederberger.

"Private sector involvement would be the best practice as the government alone can not cough up the massive investment for SEZ construction and operation," said IFC Programme Manager for SEZ, Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund Martin Norman sharing the experiences of bangladesh and Philippines.

Around 60 million jobs have been created by 3,000 SEZs across the globe. They have $200 billion investment. "But SEZs are not the panancea to be used to solve all problems, many have also failed," said IFC's Lead Investment Policy Officer Gokhan Akinci. "But with better physical features, development approach supported by policy framework, it could work miracle in Nepal."