The committee, headed by Binod KC, acting secretary of the MoLTM, was formed after a parliamentary committee gave the ministry a deadline of Jan 29 to finalize the drafts and present it at the parliament. However, it is now confirmed the ministry won´t be able to meet the deadline as it has said it won´t be able to finalize the drafts before mid-April. [break]
“The delay was created because we cannot finalize drafts before holding consultations with various stakeholders including trade unions and employers´ organizations,” Navin Kumar Pokharel, an MoLTM under secretary, told Republica, explaining, “Failure to take them into confidence at this stage may trigger protests in the days to come derailing the entire process”.
The ministry is currently reviewing Labor Act, Trade Union Act and Bonus Act, and is preparing draft bills of Social Security Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act. To put this process on the fast track, the MoLTM has prepared an action plan that has identified three steps toward reviewing the laws or preparing draft bills.
In the first stage, the six-member committee, which comprises officials of the MoLTM, law ministry and industry ministry, will conduct extensive studies and decide on provisions that need to be incorporated or removed from existing acts. It will also consult with various stakeholders, like trade unions and employers´ organizations, and other organizations that are working toward protecting the welfare of both employees and employers, so as to get a comprehensive view on interests of various sectors. “This process will complete within mid-Feb,” Pokharel said.
In the second stage, the committee will incorporate all the information collected from various sectors and create skeletons of acts and draft bills. “We hope to finish these tasks within mid-March,” Pokharel said.
In the final stage, the committee will float final copies of the amended acts and draft bills among stakeholders and get their feedback. “These feedbacks will be incorporated in the final copies and submitted to the law ministry. Once we get the law ministry´s approval, we will send the drafts to the cabinet,” Pokharel added.
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