The Chinese company, which supplied the workers for cargo handling, agreed to revoke existing practice of collecting wage from Nepali traders at a meeting with Nepali traders held in the presence of government officials of both the countries in Khasa of Tibet.[break]
Though the workers are on payroll of the Chinese company, Nepali traders had been paying certain amount of money as wage to Chinese workers. They, however, had stopped import for the past three weeks after Chinese workers unilaterally raised the wage by 2 yuan per cubic meters. The Nepali workers argued that the hike in wage will increase import cost by about 80 yuan or Rs 1,200 per container.
“Nepali traders have resumed import of Chinese goods right after the agreement was reached between the two sides,” Mimansha Adhikari, chief of Tatopani Customs Office, who facilitated the meeting, told Republica.
Nilkantha Chaulagain, president of Nepal Trans Himalayan Traders Association, said the Chinese side has revoked the hike in wage of workers. “We have started to load goods in around 500 containers in Khasa,” he added.
According to Adhikari, the Chinese side has also promised to get rid of other issues that create problems in bilateral trade.
Chinese workers have been receiving at least Rs 200 million in wages annually, according to traders. Due to halt in import of Chinese goods for about three weeks, the Tatopani Customs Office lost revenue of around Rs 220 million.
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