Minister for Labour, Employment and Social Security Gokarna Bista on Thursday warned stern action against companies not disbursing basic salary to their employees as set by the government. Minister Bista said this at the fifth national conference of the UNI APRO Nepal Liaison Council Conference he inaugurated here today. The government would focus on an enabling work environment where employees receive their basic salary and social security, he said. The government would expand the scope of the social security to incorporate the labourers in the informal sector, the minister said.

He stressed the need to streamline banks and financial institutions (BFIs) as well as insurance companies. The social security scheme would include people working in the BFIs sector. Nepal Trade Union Congress Vice-President Tejendra Jung Karki spoke on the need to manage the service sector efficiently and urged labour unions to guarantee workers’ rights. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Director for Nepal, Annette Schlicht urged uniting workers from unorganised service sector through the German organisation. FES campaigns for social democracy across the world. It is the oldest political foundation in Germany with tradition in social democracy dating back to its foundation in 1925. The foundation owes its formation and its mission to the political legacy of Friedrich Ebert, the first democratically elected German President.

The Netherlands Trade Union Federation Regional Co-ordinator Prabhu Rajendra reiterated the need to organise the unorganised sector workers by empowering them with new technology and job skills. Council Vice-President Mahendra Shrestha spoke on technology being a double edge sword that could make workers’ redundant. He urged workers to keep abreast of developing technology.

Published on: 7 December 2018 | The Kathmandu Post