An eight-member delegation of the Chinese businessmen met with the head of the business trade section of the embassy Mr Bai and sought the embassy´s proactive role in helping them run businesses in a secure environment in Nepal.
“We have sought help from the embassy, which has contacted highest authorities and even the UN, to ensure our security here,” Pan William, the owner of the Beijing Hotel International, said. Pan was thrashed by his ex-employees and GFONT members last Saturday for allegedly not implementing trade union laws in the chain of restaurants he owns in the capital city.
In the context of the latest incident at the Beijing Hotel, the Chinese embassy has contacted the PM, Nepal police, senior UML leaders, the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) and written to ILO, a Chinese embassy source said.
The embassy also denied threatening the GFONT or any of its members. “It is our duty to protect our people here. Our concern cannot be interpreted as interference or threat under any circumstances,” the source added.
The embassy officials also said that they will go by the Nepali law. The Chinese businessmen, on their part, have said that they will abide by the Nepali law, but will not be dictated by trade union laws. “I respect the law of the land but will not tolerate illegal imposition of union laws,” Pan said.
He reiterated that he is aware that a trade union can be registered with minimum 11 employees. “I have five companies and there is not more than five or ten staff per company,” Pan claimed, adding, “They do not fulfill the requirement. Moreover, the management´s consent is important to form such a union.”
The embassy has also requested the highest authorities to dwell into the question of why the Chinese community is targeted by the trade unions in Nepal time and again since this is not the first incident of such an attack. The delegation was of the view the trade unions want to “make their presence felt” and therefore whenever there is a change of government in the country, the trade unions affiliated to the party that leads the government always creates problem for them, a member of the delegation told myrepublica.com.
“I don´t want to be used as a tool of the political parties. I am here to do business not politics,” the source added.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
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