KATHMANDU, May 2: Twenty-nine percent of the Nepai business firms were found not providing the government fixed minimum wage rate to their employees in 2024.
The ‘Labour Audit Report 2024’ published by the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) shows that the firms breaching the government’s labour law increased in the last one year. In 2023, 21.7 percent of the firms did not provide minimum wage to their workers.
On July 17, 2023, the government set the minimum monthly wage of Rs 17,300 per person, an increase of 15.33 percent from Rs 15,000 previously. The revised amount includes Rs 10,820 in basic salary and Rs 6,480 in allowance.
NTUC demand minimum wage of workers be determined without delay
The audit report also shows that the labour exploitation is more crucial in the outsource companies that are engaged in supplying workers to the needy businesses. Around 77.2 percent of such companies failed to provide basic facilities to their workers last year. In 2023, 72.6 percent of the firms falling in this category made their workers deprived of the basic facilities.
The survey report shows the outsource companies have been supplying 14.91 percent of the labour force required by the business firms. According to the GEFONT, firms are relying more on outsource companies due to shortage of labour in the market with a surge in cases of foreign employment.
The Labour Act 2017 talks about providing a half an hour break to the employees after every five hours of continuous work. However, 31.6 percent of the firms did not comply with the state’s law last year. The figure was more than double of 14.6 percent in the previous year.
The surveyed firms, however, had improved in complying with the standard working period of eight hours a day for their workers. In the review year, 50.2 percent firms breached the eight-hour working rule, down from 61.1 percent previously.
Only 60.1 percent firms employ individuals by formally signing agreements or providing appointment letters. A total of 88.7 percent firms do not follow labour law while hiring interns and workers under apprenticeship.
The GEFONT President Binod Shrestha said the exploitation of laborers is found to be increasing every year due to the weak implementation of the labour law. According to him, the outcomes of the report show that the government bodies to look after the labour market inspection have been ineffective in recent times.
Meanwhile, the Nepal Chamber of Commerce has urged the government to make timely amendments in labour related laws to ensure the right and welfare of the employees. Issuing a press release on Thursday, the umbrella organisation of the private sector, also sought the need for the government intervention to improve accessibility of labours in quality health service.
