KATHMANDU, April 2: Agitating trade unions have agreed to resume operation of closed industries in Birgunj and Biratnagar from Saturday to create environment conducive for talks with employers as per the request of the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM).
An informal meeting between the employers and trade union representatives held at the MoLTM on Friday took the decision.[break]
“The talks couldn´t be conclusive as the MoLTM asked the agitating trade unions to first resume operation of closed industries to create environment for formal talks,” said Pradeep Jung Pandey, vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI).
The MoLTM had invited representatives from two factions of Maoist-affiliated trade union led by Badri Bajgain and Lal Dhwaj Nembang and three Madhesh-based trade unions for an informal dialogue on Friday, a day after Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal assured the business community of resolving the problem within two days.
Hansa Ram Pandey, director of FNCCI´s Employers´ Council, told Republica that the industrialists remained firm on their stance of not compromising on the pact signed on March 24. “We can´t make change in the agreement, as it was signed by the industrialists and major trade unions,” he said, adding, “The agreement upholds the interests of the workers.”
Badri Bajgain, coordinator of a faction of Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF), however, said the agitating trade unions decide to open industries only after the employers agreed to revise the March 24 agreement.
“We decided to open all the closed industries in Birgunj-Pathlaiya and Sunsari-Morang corridors from Saturday after the employers agreed to revise the previous agreement,” Bajgain added.
He also said all the three parties - employers, trade unions and government representatives - have agreed to hold a tripartite meeting on Sunday.
The agitating trade unions have been halting operation of more than 1,500 industries in Sunsari-Morang and Birgunj-Patlhaiya industrial corridors, demanding that the agreement signed between three major trade unions and employers associations on March 24 be annulled.