Despite the refusal of business representatives including Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) to implement minimum monthly salary and daily wage fixed by the government, industries and hotels have bowed before the workers´ demand as put forward by the ten fringe trade unions.[break]
The ten fringe trade unions are on agitation for more than a month demanding that employers implement the government-set wage package. After getting their demands fulfilled from industrialists, agitating trade unions shifted their protest to hotel and restaurants. The agitation disrupted normal operations in nearly 70 hotels including five star hotels and restaurants of all levels. Two dozen hotels of Bharatpur including Royal Century, Hotel Global and others.
Issuing a notice in Nepal Gazette on May 24, the government had fixed minimum monthly salary of workers at Rs 6,200 and daily wage at Rs 231.
Prakash Shrestha, general secretary of All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Association (ANHRWA), said except for restaurants and a five-star hotel, all hoteliers have agreed to pay wages as fixed by the government. He said the agitating workers have been organizing sit-in programs at Hyatt Regency Hotel as it is yet to comply with government notification.
“We have been trying to get our demands fulfilled from the medium-class restaurants of Thamel,” he said. “If they ignore our demands, we will introduce rigid forms of protest within two weeks.”
Other hotels in the valley have already agreed to offer the remuneration to the workers as directed by the government.
Shrestha also said that though some of the hotels including Everest Hotel and Radission Hotel among others have agreed to increase Rs 1,300 in the remuneration per month. “We have compromised with such hotels until the final verdict of the court comes,”
Most of the hotels in Chitwan including Royal Century, Hotel Global, Dalima Resort, Red Carpet and Paradise Hotel, among others have resumed operation from Saturday following the agreement with workers fulfilling their demands.
Owner of Hotel Global Sanjay Lama said that the hotel was incurring a loss of nearly Rs 35,000 a day for two weeks due to the workers´ protest. Lama said that the unexpected agitation made the operation of the hotel quite difficult. “We have just resumed our normal operation after we agreed to pay Rs 6,200 per month to the workers,” he said.
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