ANTUF-R demands Rs 15,000 as minimum pay

The All Nepal Trade Union Federation-Revolutionary (ANTUF-R) affiliated to the CPN-Maoist has threatened to shut down all industrial establishments across the country for indefinite period if minimum monthly remuneration and daily wage of workers are not raised to Rs 15,000 and Rs 700, respectively, within five days from Friday.
The warning comes four days after the government raised minimum monthly remuneration of workers to Rs 8,000 --including basic salary of Rs 5,100 and dearness allowance of Rs 2,900 -- from Rs 6,200. The daily wage of workers was also raised to Rs 318 from Rs 231.
“We had to issue this ultimatum as the new deal reached between the government, employers and trade unions is not in the interest of workers,” says an ANTUF-R statement issued on Friday.
The ANTUF-R claims a delegation led by the trade union had met with Chairman of the Interim Election Council Khil Raj Regmi in March and handed over a 25-point memorandum seeking radical changes to minimum remuneration and daily wage structures. After the trade union´s calls were not heard, it issued a seven-day ultimatum on May 15 and announced a series of protests.
“But instead of listening to our genuine concerns the government reached a deal with trade unions that had deviated from our movement,” says the ANTUF-R statement, adding, “The newly reached agreement on minimum remuneration and daily wage is not acceptable to us.”
The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the largest umbrella body of the private sector, has called the demands and ultimatum of the ANTUF-R as “unfortunate”.
“Such demands would only discourage private and foreign investment. This would ultimately affect job creation process and force more youths to leave the country,” Manish Agarwal, vice chairman of FNCCI´s Employers´ Council, told Republica.
He also said it would not be appropriate to initiate any discussion on wage revision at the moment as “we had just raised minimum remuneration and daily wage of workers in a significant manner”.
A high-ranking official of the Ministry of Labor and Employment said, “At a time inflationary pressure is creating hole in the pocket of ordinary citizens, the demands of the trade union sound genuine. But we also have to take the condition of industrial establishments into account as many are not operating in full capacity due to various problems ranging from power outage and labor-related problems to lagging economic growth rate.”
Asked why the ANTUF-R was not included in the wage negotiations between the government, employers and trade unions, the official, on condition of anonymity, said the government sends its invitation to the Joint Trade Union Coordination Committee, a group of leading trade unions operating in the country. “It is up to the committee to send representatives to participate in the wage-related negotiations,” the official further said.

IBN, SN Power hold PDA talks

The two-day negotiation talks on project development agreement (PDA) between the government and SN Power, a Norwegian power developer, for Tamakoshi III (650 MW) hydropower project concluded here on Monday.
Officials of the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) said the talks became successful in setting the ground for further discussion. Both the sides have agreed to hold next round of meeting soon, according to a source that attended the meeting.
Radesh Pant, CEO of IBN, had led the government side in the meeting while Dr Sandeep Shah, vice president and country director of SN Power, led the Norwegian firm in the meeting.
The IBN, which was formed around one and half years ago with the aim of facilitating the implementation of large scale projects on a fast track mode, held the discussion based on the PDA template developed with the help of London-based legal consulting firm Herbert Smith.
SN Power is the first power development to sit in PDA negotiation for the development of large scale hydropower projects (above 500 MW).
The PDA negotiation indicates that SN Power is serious about developing the project.
“The project will materialize if the government concludes PDA negotiation with the developer successfully," an official at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Minister (OPMCM) told Republica.
The IBN and SN Power signed the project negotiation agreement (PNA) a couple of weeks ago. As per existing rules, PDA talks should be finalized within one and half years of signing the PNA.
SN Power had received survey license of the mega hydropower project in 2007. It has already completed the environment impact assessment (EIA) of the project that is estimated to cost Rs 120 billion.
Meanwhile, the IBN is also trying to finalize PDA with two Indian power developers -- Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam and GMR. Sutlej is developing the Arun III (900 MW) project, while GMR is involved with Upper Marsyangdi and Upper Karnali projects.