"We have decided to withdraw the protest as per the request of the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management (MoLTM) to facilitate the ongoing talks with the HPL management," said Arjun Chaulagain, president of Khimti Hydroelectric Nepal Free Chemical and Iron Workers´ Union. [break]
But the end of the hunger strike does mean all protest programs in the power company have ended. "We will continue with 24-hour sit-in program at the hydropower project site in the Dolakha district," Chaulagain said. The agitating workers had launched protest, stopping all works in the power company, except electricity generation, after they found their jobs taken away by a team recruited by G4S, an outsourcing company.
To put an end to the protest, the HPL management on Thursday agreed to put labor outsourcing agreement with G4S on hold for a temporary period of time. But workers have demanded the management must terminate the contract with G4S and reinstate them in their previous positions.
"We won´t end the protest unless the HPL management agrees to hire us as its regular employees," Chaulagain said.
These protesting workers are not regular employees of the HPL but were recruited in the power company by an outsourcing firm called Khimti Services Private Limited, which was established in 2001 by transferring 89 HPL employees, who were working as drivers, cooks, gardeners, security guards and janitors.
After 11 years of service, the HPL on Dec 15 terminated its labor outsourcing contract with Khimti Services, citing "lack of transparency in structure, policies and procedures, and audited financials", which rendered all 89 workers jobless.
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