FNCCI, on behalf of the industrial enterprises, also agreed to postpone for the next four days their agitation program of handing over keys of the factories to local administration. [break]
Representatives of big three trade unions - General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GFONT), All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) and Nepal Trade Union Congress (Independent) -- and FNCCI reached the understanding amid the mounting pressure from all quarters to resolve the problem.
"We have postponed all forms of ongoing protests to create favorable environment for talks on resolving disputes over salary rise," Ramesh Badal, secretary of GFONT told Republica. However, the differences over the extent of pay hike persisted even during the fresh dialogue after the understanding.
Trade unions demanded an increase in the minimum wage by 60 percent, retreating from their previous demand for more than cent percent hike. FNCCI refused. It, however, increased the rate of hike to 23.7 from 21.4 percent it had proposed on Wednesday. The two sides continued to lock horns over the rate of hike till late night. No breakthrough was made till this news was filed. Earlier, trade unions had demanded the salaries be hiked to Rs 10,000 from current Rs 4,600 a month and daily wage to Rs 450 from Rs 195.
Earlier, industrialists of Makwanpur, where ANTUF has brought industrial operations to a grinding halt from Tuesday, had handed over the keys of their industries to local administration in a bid to exert pressure on the government to take their concerns seriously.
"We have handed over keys to the CDO to press the government to restore normalcy to the industrial environment at the earliest," said Rishi Ram Ghimire, president of Hetauda Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who handed over the keys to Makawanpur Chief District Officer Dinesh Bhattrai.
Doubling salary impossible: Joshi
President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Kush Kumar Joshi, meanwhile, reiterated that employers are not in a position to increase the salary as demanded by trade unions.
Speaking at inaugural ceremony of Century Bank on Thurday, Joshi said protracted power cuts and soaring lending rates of banks have already put extra financial burden on the industries. "In such a situation, how can Nepali industries shoulder additional cost of wage hike?" said Joshi.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal urged trade unions to hold dialogues and withdraw their protest programs that have disrupted smooth operations of industries. "The government wants the problem to be resolved through dialogue," Khanal said.
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