The number of cases filed at the Labor Court went up to 22 in between mid-July and mid-October, from 13 of the same period in the last fiscal year.[break]
In most of the cases, unhappy employees, who were sacked from their workplaces, charged the management of sending them into early retirement without providing adequate compensation.
A total of 16 such cases were filed at the court in the first quarter, against nine in the last fiscal year. Of the total cases related with ´unlawful firing´ in the last quarter, six were filed by people who were retrenched following closure of Surya Nepal´s garment unit.
“These people (former employees of Surya Nepal) have already withdrawn their cases after the company provided adequate compensation to them,” Shaligram Pandey, an official of the Labor Court, told Republica.
Pandey was referring to the sum of Rs 30 million distributed by the company as fringe benefits to those who had suffered following the closure of the garment unit.
Most of the cases received by the court these days, according to Pandey, are related to ´unlawful lay offs´ as Nepal still hasn´t embraced hire and fire policy. Other complaints include ´unlawful transfer´ and failure to abide by the conditions mentioned in the work contract.
“We look into all sorts of workplace disputes and try to settle them as early as possible,” Pandey said. “Yet not many people approach us as they are still unaware about the court´s existence.”
Established in January 1996, the Labor Court located in Anamnagar is the only legal body in the country that settles labor related disputes. But in the last 15 years it has only handled 1,742 cases, which is 116 cases per year or around one case every three days.
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