Kathmandu. Just as it is mandatory for organizations to conduct financial audits every year, it is also mandatory to conduct labor audits annually as per the provisions of the Labor Act 2074 BS.
Due to the inaction of the Labor Office and the Labor Department, which are implementing the Labor Act, regular labor audits have not been conducted in insurance companies. Even in organizations that have labor audits, the Nepal Insurance Authority has observed during on-site monitoring that the audits were conducted only for the purpose of completing formalities and that the shortcomings pointed out in previous audit reports have not been improved. There is a situation where the regulator has not been able to effectively monitor and take action to correct the errors in the implementation of the Labor Act and prevent cuts in employee services and facilities.
Organizations should conduct labor audits under the provisions of Rule 56 of the Labor Regulations 2075 BS. Under the Labor Regulations, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security has also implemented the Labor Audit Standards 2075 BS.
Labor audits are conducted with the aim of maintaining good industrial relations in enterprises by effectively implementing the existing legal system, ensuring the rights and interests of workers, and contributing to overall production and productivity growth. Labor audits help to increase the level of compliance with labor-related policies and legal provisions in enterprises, increase ownership of the enterprise by reducing worker complaints, reduce the burden of monitoring, inspection and regulation by government agencies, and make enterprises responsible and accountable for implementing policies and legal provisions.
Labor audits aim to make enterprise management aware of their responsibility for complying with the provisions of the Labor Act and Regulations, the Contribution-Based Social Security Act, 2074 and Regulations 2075, the Bonus Act, 2030 and Regulations 2039, the Trade Union Act, 2049 and Regulations 2050.
Schedule 10 of the Labor Regulations 2075 provides details of the matters to be mentioned in the labor audit report. As in the case of audit, there is no clear provision regarding internal and external audit in the case of labor audit. However, there is a provision that the institution can get the labor audit done through its own employees at the managerial level or through a person who has passed the graduation level and has two years of experience at the managerial level.
All life, non-life, micro and reinsurance companies must conduct a labor audit annually. The labor audit report must be submitted to the Insurance Authority. Although most insurance companies submit labor audit reports to the Authority regularly, they do not spend enough time. There is a tendency to hastily prepare and submit reports when the report is to be submitted to the Authority.
The management side tends to view the issues related to labor rights mentioned in the labor audit report as an expense rather than an opportunity to expand harmonious relations.
The labor audit report provides guidance for correcting and improving the activities that are against labor rights and contrary to the Labor Act within the establishment. In recent times, with the aim of reducing operating costs, the management of insurance companies has increased the tendency to involve even inexperienced people in the responsibility of sensitive work. Although the labor cost is comparatively cheaper when working with new entrants, it increases the operational risk.
Among the currently licensed insurance companies, only a limited number of insurers have conducted labor audits through external individuals or organizations. Most have a tendency to conduct labor audits from internal personnel merely for formality, accepting it as a mandatory legal provision.
##
##Here are the ##Labor Act##related complaints in insurance companies as pointed out in the auditor and labor audit report:
## 1) Opaque employee appointment process
##
## 2) Increasing use of wage labor and trainees for regular work
##
## 3) From the Ministry of Labor Payment of wages lower than prescribed
4) Inactivity of employee unions
5) Inactive labor-management coordination committee
6) Inactivity of workplace safety committee
7) Shorter leave for maternity employees than labor regulations
8) Lack of separate room for breastfeeding newborns at the workplace
9) Failure to utilize leave as per employee regulations and labor regulations Not given
10) Arrangements contrary to the Labor Act in salary and grade distribution
11) No promotion for a long time
12) Not participating in equal training and career development opportunities
13) Not implementing the employee leadership development plan
14) Not spending 2 percent of the management expenses on employee training
15) Assigning work responsibilities to those who lack qualifications and experience Trends
16) Amendment and implementation of employee regulations without the approval of the regulator
17) Creation of levels and posts without the approval of the regulator and contrary to the Labor Act
18) Reduction in the existing service facilities of the employee
19) There is no difference in the remuneration of the employee according to the level
20) There is no increase in salary facilities compared to inflation
21) Working beyond office hours and on holidays Overtime allowance not provided to deployed employees
22) There is no uniformity in the arrangement regarding mandatory leave, leave not being used
23) There is no adequate orientation before being employed
24) They are forced to resign by making them unfit for work or without responsibility
25) Exit interviews of resigned employees are not conducted
26) Resignation of resigned employees is done even after a long period of time Not done
27) There is a tendency to compare and punish work performance by assigning responsibilities to older jobs rather than taking responsibility
28) Employees who were adjusted during the merger were discriminated against in terms of work responsibilities and service facilities
29) Employees who resigned after the merger were dismissed without being given the salary and allowances as per the previous commitment
Even with so many problems, due to the lack of interest from the board of directors, management, employee leadership and insurance regulator for improvement, a suitable working environment has not been created. In order to develop a culture of treating employees as assets rather than as a burden, the leadership of the employee union, insurance regulator and labor office should conduct an impartial labor audit and Pressure should be exerted to correct the shortcomings pointed out in the audit report.
