Trade unions not to support political strikes

ITAHARI, May 22: In a major change of stance, trade unions affiliated to various political parties, including the UCPN (Maoist), have announced that they will henceforth not participate in strikes and bandas called by the political parties.



The parties have largely misused the backing of workers to fulfill their political interests, and strikes and bandas in turn have hit our livelihood and aggravated our hand-to-mouth existence, trade union leaders concluded. [break]



“We have now decided not to take part in such political strikes and bandas,” they said at a joint press meet on Saturday.



Interestingly, the trade union leaders also asserted that frequent strikes have hit industrial operations and exposed industries to the risk of closure, thereby increasing the chances of workers losing their jobs.



Trade unionists affiliated to the UCPN (Maoist), CPN (UML), Nepali Congress and the Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (Democratic) even noted that their undue engagement in political stirs has greatly weakened their credibility and also distracted them from working for the genuine occupational rights of workers.



“We have already paid a heavy price in being used as a political weapon. We want to concentrate on our work and the rights of workers. We also request industrial entrepreneurs to focus on how to operate industries smoothly,” said Madhav Chaudhary, district president of Nepal Trade Union Congress.



He added that all trade unions in Sunsari district are preparing to declare a ´one trade union, one voice´ policy.



Trade union leader affiliated to the Maoists Bhanu Mainali flayed the ´no work, no pay´ principle that the government endorsed under its new Industrial Policy. But at the same time, he noted that the workers´ first duty was to do justice by his profession.



“If all the trade unions come together, we can easily bring an end to the wrong practice of strikes and bandas,” he said.



Mainali also stressed the need for close cooperation among trade unions to protect the rights of workers. “We are facing criticism and failing to protect workers´ rights because we are more faithful to the parent party than to the workers,” he said.



Meanwhile, Sunsari president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GeFONT) Hari Rai asked entrepreneurs to pay their workers wages for the period of the Maoist-launched general strike when industries remained closed for a week.



According to an estimate, industries operating in the Morang-Sunsari corridor employ more than 100,000 workers.

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