Compensate Gurkha ex-POWs 

The decision by the British Government not to compensate the British Gurkhas, who had been POWs (prisoner of wars), can only be called an injustice. The decision has been seen as a clear case of discrimination against British Gurkha soldiers over the issue of equal in-service benefits and pension debate for while British soldiers can avail of compensation, the Gurkhas have been left out in the cold, and that too, after years of proven loyal service.

The disheartening news has highlighted the British authorities’ inflexible stand on the issue of granting British Gurkha soldiers the same amount- 10,000 sterling pounds, that is being paid to ex-British POWs. Gurkha soldiers underwent gruesome treatment in Japanese POW camps. Is it then fair that they should now be treated so?

The logic of classifying British Gurkhas as Indian Army soldiers cannot stand questioning. Going by the logic of the British government, it appears as if it suffers from self-induced amnesia, forget its own recognition of sovereign Nepal in 1923. The British began recruiting Gurkha (Nepalese) hillmen after the Anglo-Nepal war of 1814-16. This continued with the blessings of the Rana regime, which saw Gurkha recruitment as an important source of revenue. The contribution of Gurkha troops in suppressing the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 was crucial. Since then, the Gurkhas have been one of the few loyal troops with the British. The First and Second World Wars saw unprecedented recruitment of Gurkhas in the British Army. Tens of thousands of young hardy, hill men were rushed into the distant fronts, in the inhospitable terrain of deserts and jungles. These men did their best, accepted all tasks in the face of death and the horrors of battle. The Gurkhas have continued to perform in fulfilling the different political objectives of the United Kingdom. However, the British do not seem to recognize the contribution of Gurkha troops. Apparently, racial bias seems to have influenced the British government’s perception. How the Gurkhas could qualify for the highest gallantry award, the Victoria Cross, but not for equal pay and equal benefits as native British soldiers is no doubt the moot question.

The recent increment in pension for former British Gurkha soldiers and officers has been seen by many as only a ploy to appease certain unaware Gurkha pensioners and Nepalese politicians. This pension hike fails to provide equality in the pension rate when compared to what is paid to native British soldiers. Both native and Gurkha soldiers perform the same demanding job of soldiering, but unreasonable and unacceptable differences in pay still exist. The stench of racism is apparent in this flawed policy.

Therefore, the discrimination against British Gurkha soldiers must end immediately if the British government wants to save its face in front of the world. It is totally farcical of the British government to even speak of democracy and human rights, while they openly violate the rights of Gurkha soldiers. Their foreign policy of upholding these ideals goes totally against their attitude concerning the pension and now, the compensation issue. The in-service discrimination faced by present and former British Gurkha servicemen must come to an end.

'Ten percent service charge'

By Narayan Manandhar

The recent ten percent service charge debate between hotel owners and the hotel unions has taken a new turn with the formal public announcement by hotel owners that they will not be able to provide services from December 10. This announcement was made in response to the call for a nationwide strike by trade unionists from December 11 if their demand for levying 10% service charge is not fulfilled by the management. The situation reflects not just the problems associated with a particular industry, i.e., hotel and restaurant business but also the general pattern, attitude and mind-set of the actors involved in maintaining industrial relations in Nepal. The situation shows we are deeply mired in a 'win-lose" situation where there is little room for mutual trust and cooperation. The actors involved must remember that washing dirty linen in public makes the situation more complex.

The case of Singapore: The arguments given for and against levying service charge by hotel entrepreneurs and trade unions, collected from various newspaper clippings have been summarised in the box. It is entirely up to individual readers to judge on the validity of these arguments. This scribe, recently being nominated in the study team on ten percent charge, was given a dossier of materials from Singapore where a similar controversy took place in 1997. The issue there was not whether to impose service charge but the relative efficiency of the prevailing service charge system and the usual tipping system. The debate surfaced after customers complained that they were not getting adequate service or there was general laxity among hotel staff . The arguments given in Singapore to switch from tipping system to flat rate service charge system are listed here. Readers are invited here to compare these arguments with the ones collected in the box. The arguments were; (1) to spare customers the hassle of having to decide how much to tip; (2) to prevent discriminatory service based on what a service provider perceived as a potential high "tipper"; (3) to ensure that all back and front-line staff get a fixed share from the service charge collected; (4) to avoid promoting the concept of servitude, which discourages people from joining the industry and (5) tipping should not become a way of life in Singapore.

What is service charge? Service charge is a formalization of the tipping system, but it need not necessarily replace the tipping system. However, where service charge is in force, normally, tipping system is discouraged. Service charge cannot be a government enforced mechanism like tax. Otherwise, the revenue should first be deposited in the central treasury. Asking the government to be involved in service charge decision is the root cause of the problem in the ongoing debate. Service charge is basically a bilateral decision between hotel management and workers’ representatives to decide whether to impose service charge and, if so, by how much. The question hangs on competitiveness and service capability of individual enterprises to attract customers. There are also customary practices to leave blank a box for service charge in hotel/restaurant bills to be filled in by the individual guest or the customer giving him/her the discretion to provide service charges. What I mean to hit home is that service charge is basically a part of an individual company strategy. The government can only facilitate dialogue between the parties. It cannot impose service charges. For there are other issues to be resolved even after resolving a decision to impose service charge. For example, how are the service charge proceeds to be used/distributed and for what purpose(s)? What will be the applicable rate and how is it to be revised? In which hotels are you going to apply service charges - all hotels or star rated ones? There are numerous questions like these waiting for a reply. The actors in industrial relations are also requested to learn a lesson or two why National Welfare Fund has been inactive.

At first sight, it gives the impression that it is the trade unions who are playing with fire by calling for government intervention in the service charge decision. No, it is not. The photocopies of enterprise level collective bargaining agreements (CBA) show, at least in dozen major prominent hotels in Nepal, the management had postponed the decision by shifting responsibility to the government by stating that they will abide by the concept "if it is adopted as a policy by the government". This clearly indicates a situation where no hotel management wants to "rock the boat" and take the lead in making a service charge decision. Even the team established to undertake a study on service charge in 1995/96 concluded its report by stating that the team had "no mandate to give specific decision on whether to levy or not to levy service charge". The present state is basically an outcome of indecisiveness and responsibility shirking behaviour on the part of actors involved in industrial relations.

What could be done to resolve the crisis? Given the fighting mood, it appears little can be done to thwart a crisis. The government can still facilitate the negotiation process. Since the problem has been placed at the table of the government, it cannot just wait and see how the situation will unfold in the days to come. The management can effectively use 10 percent service charge as a bargaining chip to increase the level of productivity in the hotel industry. The unions must understand that service charge is effectively an individual enterprise level decision. There will be
more threat of spillover effects of service charge when it is taken at the central level. The government must refrain from taking a decision and limit itself to helping parties come to a decision.

Postscript: Whoever wins or loses in this conflict, one thing that is sure to happen is that this debate will be a landmark in the history of labour relations in Nepal. It will be a watershed in shaping and defining new sets of labour relations in Nepal. Because the issue has come up at a time when talks are going on with respect to unification of otherwise divided labour unions. Even two unions supposed to take opposite stands have joined together in this issue. Management has also shown its assertiveness by speaking clearly and loudly that it will never bow down to pressures, ultimatums and demands.

2+2 is not equal to four ?

By Tilak Kandangwa Limbu

Flashy attractive boards are dangling from the eaves board of a neat house in an electrified village. The rat-a tat Heavy Metal music’ of facsimile machine, printers computers and fax machines is continuous .From Kathmandu to Surkhet to Baitadi to Okhaldhunga a group of civilized, educated people are busy preparing some sort of strange concoctions with pen, paper and brains; others are busy analyzing terms like Social Mobilization, Agitation, Social poverty, GDP, HDI... (you name it), it deemed by them, terms necessary for poverty alleviation. For the last 40 years or so they have been relentlessly jogging to get a panacea, a formula for curing the plight of the masses. Yes! You guessed it right! Welcome! it is the world of NGOs, INGOs and programmes. Unfortunately, the chaff is not being separated from wheat. The more they winnow, the more husky the product is. The latest husks we are getting are terms like sustainability, synergy, etc (you may disagree). I myself am a development worker continuously caught in the real meaning of these words. The other day, wearily, I asked my colleague- "Hey! Why on earth aren’t we getting good results that match our ground realities?" And his answer was "My friend it is simply, 2+2 is not always four." I was dumbfounded. This latest trash, this latest revision of the universal equation, frequently used by development brains is really giving me sleepless nights. Maybe, the fault lies in my technical background. But if it is not four, how much is it? Is it 3,5, 4, 5 or is it 10? Okay, Fine. One cannot achieve cent percent in practice. If so, what is the answer? Rounding off the errors is it 3.95 or 4.05? I guess one cannot say 3, because it is robbery in broad daylight. What will happen to an undertaking if somebody gets 3 and defends saying it is not always four? Isn’t it like defending a half failed project? What if someone bypasses a legal hierarchy and says it is not always four? Isn’t it a shield to our fault? Why beating about the bush? Instead why don’t we try making it 3.9 if not four? Have we tried? The list may get longer...

Now I may have a piece of advice. Let’s change the ingredients. Let’s borrow some classical weird words of 60’s from our Leftist Comrades (I hope they will compile a dictionary soon) and mix it with the present 21st century e-terms like globalization of poverty, foreign aid, capital in a classical Nepalese Gundruke way and presto! Who knows we may get the right solution, we may get the right lyrics that is in rhythm with our indigenous Madal. After all people of this accursed geography are ready to dance to any tune be it Heavy Metal of Jhyaure.

What would you do if you later discover that the picture tube of your television is of Daewoo brand while buying a Sony TV? Surely you will be contented with it. But what would you do if you discover it to be a Hulas brand. Fight with the shopkeeper? Beware! his answer may boomerang upon you. Monsieur, 2+2 is not always four! Damn it! Friends don’t get angry with me, I am just urging let us make it 3.9.

The microbus fiasco

By Ashok R Pandey

Political leaders are the custodians of democracy. Their principal objective is to encapsulate a vision for the future of the country and propel the country towards this vision with appropriate plans, programmes and strategies. Government’s performance is purely judged on the results of its performance.

The microbus import to replace diesel Vikrams is a clear case of money influencing HMG's plans and programmes. Initially, they were proposed as an incentive to remove the polluting diesel vikrams. When HMG finally permitted importation of these vehicles, the need was already fulfilled by indigenous electric vehicles, and thus, imports were redundant. Yet, vehicle imports are sacrosanct because of the opportunities they provide for large chunks of money to flow into the pockets of various elements both inside and outside HMG.

Policy manipulation by big business: The National Planning Commission (NPC) is fully conscious of the deleterious impact on the health of valley residents and the adverse implication for the tourism industry due to environmental degradation. To counter these problems, NPC emphasized the development and promotion of the electric battery operated vehicles (EBOV) as a national priority in a country where the potential for hydropower is high. Despite this priority, HMG went ahead with the importation of microbuses. This is bound to create serious problems not only for the environment, but also for indigenous businesses. It was primarily HMG’s emphasis on EBOV that promoted unprecedented growth of the EV industry with an investment in excess of 45 crores. With such a huge investment already in place, HMG is now pulling the rug leaving many investors out in the cold. National priorities should not change overnight.

In the brief interregnum, the electric vehicle (EV) industry displayed healthy growth to the point that additional vehicles were no longer required for commuter transport. The growth of annual production to 400 EV’s translated to one of the lost opportunities, amounting to crores of rupees annually, for vehicle importers of Nepal. For bureaucrats and politicians, it presented the possibility of losing huge amounts of easy money. In order to protect their vested interests, bureaucrats, politicians and vehicle importers pooled together and manipulated the system with ulterior motive of stifling the EV industry in its infancy and clearing the way for subsidized imports in the future. Despite draconian measures to reduce air pollution in India with the introduction of Euro 2 standard vehicles in major cities, HMG settled on the much lower standard of Euro-1 and permitted import of vehicles with inferior engines under the pretext of conversion to LPG.

Environmental Consequences: What is disconcerting is that after the huge expense in imports, the environmental impact of these imports will be detrimental. Japanese microbuses were accepted as Euro 1 standard on the basis of certification provided by manufacturers even though such certification is inherently unreliable. Japanese manufacturers know fully well that there are no legal implications for such certification as Nepal lacks the requisite equipment to fully test conformity with Euro 1 standards. To aggravate the situation further, HMG has exempted these vehicles from emission tests for a period of one year.

The Suzuki Carry and Chinese Wuhling microbuses have inferior quality engines and mere conversion to LPG for environmental reasons is only a farce to deceive the unsuspecting public. The quality of the engine is the most important determinant of emission levels. LPG is as polluting as petrol with respect to carbon monoxide emissions as is borne out by studies conducted around the world. In addition, no investigation has ever been carried out in Nepal on the environmental impact of LPG run vehicles even though these vehicles have been running in Nepal for over 3 years. HMG is taking a big risk in permitting an expanded operation of these LPG vehicles, both in terms of emission levels and safety.

A prohibitively expensive decision: The optimum use of scarce resources is the only avenue for rapid economic progress. Diesel vikrams were around for a decade and had used up their economic life. They were displaced to some of the towns in the Terai and vehicle owners salvaged most of the economic value of these vehicles. HMG ended up squandering foreign exchange worth nearly 54 crores in costs of importation, and another 67 crores by way of tax exemption totalling a massive cost of over 1 billion rupees. Nepal indeed must be a
rich country if it can forego over 1 billion to displace an investment that was virtually worthless.

HMG’s pronouncements of a 99 percent exemption of customs duty and full exemption of Vat lured many of these Vikram owners into believing the vehicles they were purchasing were available at reasonable prices, scrutiny of the prices of these vehicles reveal that some of them were heavily over invoiced and a sizeable part of the benefits of tax exemption was seized by importing agents. The average buyer has overpaid by close to 2.5 lakhs per vehicle and the total profits accruing to the importing agents for all microbus imports is to the tune of 13 crores. A part of the excess profits has found its way into the pockets of decision makers. Microbus owners themselves are in a tight spot. They have largely overpaid for the vehicles and the severe glut of vehicles will reduce profits from operation.

Fraudulent behaviour: HMG limited the number of seats in vehicles that qualify for the facilities of tax exemptions to between 10 to 14 seats, but agents have imported vehicles that violate the basic premise of this seat capacity as defined. The microbus currently in use should not have qualified for these tax exemptions. Through assistance from various departments and ministries, they have not only succeeded in benefiting from these exemptions but have managed to get the vehicles registered with Department of Transport Management (DOTM). The Japanese microbus with 15 seat capacity and the Chinese Wuling and Suzuki Carry with only 7 seat capacity have flouted existing rules and regulations with the help of the establishment in getting the requisite registration. Instead of accepting original documents, DOTM has accepted counterfeit faxes and handwritten notes provided by agents in registering these vehicles. This is a dangerous precedent. If rules are openly flouted with the connivance of officials and members of the establishment, it becomes a serious dereliction of duty on the part of HMG. This fraudulent activity must be dealt with firmly.

Conclusion: Barely 8 months back, a new team at the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) took a historic decision to rid the valley of smoke guzzling diesel vikram tempos. This was certainly a good beginning in improving air quality in Kathmandu. It was hoped that this decision would be a precursor to more positive steps to clean up our environment. These inimitable gains are now in the process of being reversed with the introduction of the microbus. These vehicles are being propagated as pollution free but this is basically a subterfuge. The diesel vikram is the cheapest form of transportation available anywhere in the world. Its displacement from Kathmandu was motivated by an overwhelming concern for the environment. It thus behooves HMG to permit vehicle imports with environmental impact as the single most important consideration. It is indeed imperative for the MOPE to set clear cut objectives in managing air quality expeditiously. In the present instance HMG was manipulated by vested interests and the environment has been compromised.

Commuters have generally appreciated the microbus for the comforts they provide at inexpensive rates. They are however largely unaware of the adverse implications to the environment. It is HMG’s responsibility to police the emission of these vehicles to protect the health of the residents of the valley and to maintain minimum standards emissions control. In a competitive free market economy, a vehicle that meets statutory prescriptions should not be asked to compete with another that does not. HMG officials frequently chant the mantra of a free market to justify their actions but a free market also means government assumes the role of an impartial regulator to ensure healthy competition. A free market is not anarchy but a regulated system where genuine market forces and not government intervention and bribes determine winners and losers. It is also to be hoped that the precedence of the microbus will not be repeated with the displacement of the 20-year-old vehicles in the valley. The same forces behind the microbus deal will attempt to bring in other vehicles as replacement with identical modus operandi.