Salary hike row: Trade unions on protest path

KATHMANDU, JUL 19 - Ten disgruntled trade unions have unveiled protest programmes to pressure employers to increase workers’ salary as provisioned in the Nepal Gazette. Their programmes include wearing black band at workplace on Thursday and an indefinite industrial closer starting Aug.15.

The protest has been announced at a time when the Supreme Court has already issued an interim order not to implement the workers’ pay hike based on the Gazette for now. The court on Jul. 3 had issued the order to the government.

In a joint press release, unions close to Madhesh-based political parties, two warring factions within the pro-UCPN (Maoist) All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) and other minor trade unions have demanded that employers implement the basic salary and dearness allowance as mentioned in the Gazette.
The government on May 24 through the Gazette had increased the minimum salary of all industrial workers to Rs 6,200 (basic salary of Rs 3,550 and dearness allowance of Rs 2,650) and daily wage to Rs 231.

The unions said the salary was increased based on the common understanding of all trade unions, the government, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederations of Nepalese Industries to allow Ministry of Labour and Transport Management to determine the minimum salary. The 10 trade unions are the same groups that are also against the 11-point pay-hike deal reached between employers’ organisations and three big trade unions on March 24.

“We condemn the notice circulated by FNCCI to its commodity associations and district chambers asking them not to pay the increased salary,” said Badri Bajgain, coordinator of the ANTUF—a faction of UCPN-Maoist-aligned trade union. He said FNCCI directed the employers, who were ready to accept the new provision, to pay minimum Rs 4,600 a month as per the old salary structure.

Meanwhile, the trade unions signing the 11-point agreement have urged the government to solve the salary-hike dispute at the earliest. In a joint press release, the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions, Nepal Trade Union Congress-Independent and ANTUF close to UCPN-Maoists Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal panel have demanded that a meeting of the Central Labour Advisory Board be held within a week to implement the increased salary of workers with necessary review in salary structure.