Kathmandu. According to a report published recently by the Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions, in 2024, 29 percent of Nepali business organizations did not provide the minimum wage rate fixed by the government to their employees.
According to the ‘Labour Audit Report 2024’ released by the Federation of Nepal Trade Unions (GIFANT) on Thursday, the number of firms violating labor laws has increased from 21.7 percent to 29 percent in the last one year.
The government had fixed the minimum monthly wage at Rs 17,300 per person from July 2080. Earlier, it was Rs 15,000. As per the existing minimum wage, the basic salary was fixed at Rs 10,820 and the allowance at Rs 6,480.
According to the report, employers are using the company’s cover to outsource labor exploitation (the practice of supplying workers through third parties or transferring responsibility of work to third parties). Last year, 77.2 per cent of such companies did not pay their workers leave, rest, clothing, basic amenities and minimum wages. In 2023, 72.6 percent of organizations in this category denied basic facilities to their workers.
On the occasion, GIFANT Chairman Binod Shrestha expressed concern over the increasing exploitation of workers every year due to poor implementation of labour laws. According to him, the results of the report have confirmed that the government agencies that oversee the labor market inspection have not been effective in recent times.
According to the survey report, outsourced companies are supplying 14.91 percent of the total required manpower to commercial firms. Gifant said that due to the lack of manpower in the market and the increase in foreign employment incidence, the dependence of firms on outsourced companies is increasing.
According to the Labour Act 2074 BS, employees should be given half an hour’s rest every five hours. 31.6% of firms have defied such a provision. That’s more than double the previous year’s 14.6 percent.
The number of outsourced employees and trainee interns in insurance companies is also increasing. According to trade unions, instead of hiring regular employees and direct employment, there has been a significant increase in the tendency to hire outsourced or hire intern students for a long time. The overall number of employees does not seem to be declining, said the president of an insurer’s employees’ union, but the number of permanent and direct appointees is declining and the number of outsourcers and interns is increasing.
The survey found that business firms that participated in the survey improved compliance with eight hours of work hours a day for their workers. In the review year, 50.2 percent of firms violated the eight-hour working rule. It was 61.1 percent in 2023.
According to the Federation, only 60.1 per cent of the employers’ organizations have provided employment to workers or outsourcing companies by signing contracts or providing appointment letters. The second most labor exploitation is on trainee workers. A total of 88.7 per cent of the firms surveyed by the Federation did not comply with labour laws while recruiting interns and workers as trainees. It has been found that even after working for eight hours, they do not even pay the minimum wages for lunch. In addition, trainee workers are assigned to work according to the interests of the company rather than in the work related to their studies.
GIFANT is a trade union close to the ruling CPN-UML. It operates as a non-governmental organization operating under the guise of labor organizations. It is one of the richest labor organizations in Nepal in terms of resources. Its head office is located at Anamnagar Dhobikhola Corridor.
