Easy way out

The other day, the Public Expenditure Review Commission (PERC), with an aim to streamline "administrative expenses" recommended that three ministries be scrapped. Whether PERC’s recommendation will really bring expenditure down remains to be seen, but it will definitely not be in favour of public interest. It is a fact that expenditure and gross misuse of state fund have increased during the last few years. As a result, the pace of development appears to have been unsatisfactory, especially due to lack of effective measures to arrest overhead expenditure. No doubt, this has been a matter of grave concern.

The World Bank consultant KPMG Barnet Group had carried out a study on the spending management of two state owned banks - Nepal Bank Limited and Rastriya Banijya Bank. It pointed out that severe mismanagement and gross laxity resulted in low output of public sector investment. This prompted the government to form a five-member PERC to find effective means and better ways to manage public expenditure. PERC’s report, submitted to the Ministry of Finance recommends scrapping of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, the Ministry of General Administration and the Ministry of Population and Environment. Earlier, the government had to cut down the number of ministries from 25 to 21 when the administrative reform committee approved a similar move.

The manner in which the PERC report has undermined the performance of these three ministries indicates that they have become unnecessarily inefficient. However, what the PERC recommendation has done is that it has not only ignored the environment and population but also undermined the welfare of children and women. The reason is that health, science and technology cannot fall under population and environment. Neither can the national women’s commission oversee the social welfare of women and children. This apart, the Prime Minister, who has been looking after a dozen ministries, cannot possibly be expected to head the special police department and revenue investigation department. This centralizes decisions and will hinder the pace of overall development.

The government cannot merge the two separate entities - police and revenue - into a single department. This will lead to more complications and mismanagement rather than delay in decisions. Public expenditure has gone up not because of the number of ministries, but because of ineffective law. Had the government taken action against those who misused the state fund, things would have not become so bad. In fact, it is the corrupt political leaders who should be blamed for this unfortunate state more than the number of ministries. If the government wants to, it can cut down on wasteful spending by using common modes of transportation for officials who have been enjoying vehicle facilities. It should take stock of all its vehicles and auction off all extra vehicles. If it is strict about the expenditure and monitors it well and makes officials as well as ministries accountable, these would prove much more effective in terms of minimizing expenditure than cutting down on the number of ministries.

A decade of labour movement in Nepal

By Narayan Manandhar

The advent of multi-party democratic system in 1990 had a direct bearing on the labour movement in Nepal. Although during the Panchayat regime, some degree of labour rights were guaranteed in the then Nepal Factory and Factory Workers’ Act, an effective ban on trade unionism and collective bargaining made a mockery of those rights. In such a setting it was natural for the labour movement to be closely linked with the political movement. Even to date, labour movements are linked, in one way or other, with political parties. Because of its recent origin, trade union movement still exhibits weaknesses like union fragmentation and multiplicity, low representation, mistrust between employers and unions, ineffective dispute resolution mechanism, inflexible labour laws, low productivity etc. In spite of these weaknesses, the labour movement has taken some distinct strides under multi-party dispensation.

The first observation that could be made is on the setting up of some basic infrastructure in terms of legal and institutional frameworks. Important legislation having a direct bearing on labour movement like Labour Act, Child Labour Act, Trade Union Act, Transport and Vehicle Management Act, Child Labour Promotion and Protection Act and Working Journalists Act were enacted during this period. The Labour Act and Trade Union Acts were also amended giving substantial scope for introducing trade union movement even in the agriculture sector. Some other important acts relating to labour and employment like Bonus Act, Foreign Employment Act were also amended. With regards to institutional set ups, the Central Labour Advisory Board has been activated and the Labour Court has been established.

There are now three confederations of trade unions and a dozen more labour associations. Mention must also be made of three ILO Conventions ratified during this decade bringing to seven, the ratifications so far made by Nepal.

Preparations are underway to ratify the conventions on the prohibition of forced labour and worst form of child labour. The Conventions ratified during this decade are: Convention No 144 on Tripartism, Convention No 138 on Child Labour and Convention No 98 on Freedom of Organisation and Collective Bargaining. Similarly, during this decade, minimum wages were reviewed four times. In January 2000, minimum wages were fixed for the first time for agriculture workers. Similarly, at the end of 1999, the government introduced labour policy. One significant event during this decade was the declaration of freedom for Kamaiyas, a type of forced agriculture labour practices in western Nepal. Debates are now underway to introduce the social security system.

In a new-found democratic set up, trade unionism is rising albeit slowly. The number of trade unions registered increased from 711 in 1994 to 1840 in 1999. Nearly half of these trade unions are established within Kathmandu Valley. However, there is also a perceptible increase in the deregisteration of trade unions, that is, their failure to get a two year period registration renewal. As a result of increased registration and deregistration, the actual number of active trade unions have, more of less, stabilised. The increase in registration and deregistration of trade unions must have something to do with the dynamics of trade union politics. Trade union membership is still a matter of secrecy and speculation. Recently, one of the confederations of trade unions, namely, GEFONT has revealed its membership strength to be 310,575.

Compared to the situation in the early nineties, the recorded numbers of strikes have come down during the last decade. This must be due to the creation of legal and institutional infrastructure necessary for regulating labour relations. However, the number of mandays lost due to strikes and lockouts, both in absolute numbers and relative figures (e.g. Mandays lost/thousand workers) have increased particularly after the mid term election 1995. The increase in mandays lost amid declining number of strikes imply that labour management conflicts are complicated. This is also evidenced by the management opting for lockouts when and wherever they sense labour conflicts will surface in their enterprises. A good example is the adamant attitude recently shown by the hotel entrepreneurs against the demand made by hotel unions to introduce 10% Service Charge.

The Labour Act which is supposed to regulate labour management relationships is still a bone of contention between these two parties. It is known that some entrepreneurs are drafting new labour legislation to suit their situation and conditions. Though some achievements have been made in regulating labour relationships through the introduction of labour legislation, labour relations in the country is still fraught with doubt, suspicion and mistrust between the workers and management. Unions still claim that many of the provisions made in the Labour Act have not been implemented. The managements claims that those provisions are non-implementable or simply difficult to implement.

Recently, GEFONT, one of the trade union confederations in Nepal has published a report trying to assess the decade's achievements of labour movement in Nepal using a structured questionnaire for their 425 trade union activists in 425 enterprises. The questionnaire intends to measure the perceptual data on changes effected during the last ten years on various issues related to labour like management harassment, changes in wages and incomes, terms and conditions of employment, social security, workplace environment and labour disputes and its causes. Though the views expressed are purely that of GEFONT affiliated trade union activists, given the large size of the sample, some possible generalisations can be made for the country as a whole.

Except for a few items, the responses by the trade union activists were very much positive. The results are amazing given the situation of labour strife and discontent in the country. Sexual harassment has come down including the harassment meted out to trade union activists in the enterprises.

Management action on employees seems to have been confined largely to issuing clarification letters. The unions have been able to raise their facilities and allowances though such facilities come only in a limited form like tiffin allowance, Dashain allowance, annual grades, clothes allowance, medical allowance and the implementation of minimum wages. The unionists have also responded positively to changes in the terms and conditions of employment. During the last decade, large gains were perceived in compelling management to issue appointment letters, permanency of job tenure, lunch hour and breaks. Substantial gains were observed in securing various forms of leaves and holidays in the enterprises. However, though positive changes have been noticed in social security of the workers, much of them are confined to provident fund, gratuity payment, accident insurance and compensations. Similar is the case with changes in workplace environment. However, much of the responses were negative with regard to the situation of occupational health and safety. Union leaders responded that diseases relating to eyes, ears, nose nerves, skin, bones and respiration have increased during the decade.

The individual causes of labour disputes have also declined during the decade. However, the causes of labour disputes are confined to few categorical issues like undue dismissal, issue of warning letters, suspension from job, withholding of salaries and grades. In a nutshell, GEFONT report has been very positive. They have even said that during this decade, the movement has been able to establish trade unions as an important social partner.

An impartial assessment of labour management situation in the country will reveal that the relationships are still defined in terms of "win-lose" situation. The partners have to go a long way before they convert it into a "win-win" situation. Some labour rights have been defined in the Act but the precariousness of the Nepalese economy makes it difficult to guarantee those rights. Though labour rights imbue some elements of human rights, they come more in the form of economic rights.

Persistence of love

By Sandip Adhikari

The other day, we happened to be taking our English lecture on About Love by Anton Chekov. The lousy atmosphere of the class was at once inoculated with a serum of zeal and vigour. The class grew enthusiastic and bubbly. Especially, the last benchers were beginning to boil. It was assumed that the English teacher had infused in them the enthusiasm to take active part in the academic discourse. But, such was not the case. They were instead being heated by the theme love. It seemed as though those idlers and idols were revived to the charms of life. How could it be? I asked myself. Is love so influential, so powerful that it can revive the ‘dead’ back to the charms of life? In fact, I couldn’t surmise then, that their enthusiasm was merely a show off, an exposition of their masculinity over the shy girls of the class. They would despise and mock at the words pertaining to feminine purity, feminine attributes and the like. Worlds like ‘virginity’ and ‘chastity’ were not spared from their derogatory remarks. I fazed at their behaviour. Love for them was just an affair to adopt, adore and abandon.

And, I thought it was very critical on the part of our teacher to let off a quote, "Love has life but cannot defy time." He meant ‘Love does not persist long’. I was bemused and so held a short argument with him. I clarified that love persists between the two involved hearts, whether in each other's presence or absence. But, in vain, my every justification failed. The following hour, I was not spared the terse remarks of my peers. Everyone would come up to me with sympathy and would magnanimously advise me not to philosophise things so extensively and so unduly. I was stunned, as I was not philosophising, at all. In fact, I was just elucidating the truth, yet they couldn’t digest it. I don’t have the slightest idea, why and how truth becomes indigestible. But, this truth ought to be digested, either enforced or at will. I just couldn’t convince even my closest peer. He too came up with his remarks. He was climbing on the victorious wagon and in the intoxication of triumph over me had turned deaf to my words, and become a stranger to my feelings. Had anyone cultivated some respect for love, I wouldn’t have felt so disgusted. I stayed there, silent and mute. I was defeated in the battle I had waged for keeping love in its esteemed pedestal.

The battle I had waged alone was lost. But, I felt consoled in one corner of my heart as I found that I hadn’t changed, my resolution had remained undeterred. The only thing I was longing for then were the potion of love from my own love and her sweet words, which would calm down my exasperation. I desired for her company as I found myself among a bevy of people, insane and quite irrational. Infact, all points I argued were in favour of love. I got solace thinking that love persists beyond every boundary and territory. It isn’t vitiated by such extravagant aspersions.

I claim love persists because I love and am loved.

The interplay between rhetoric and romanticism

By Basanta Lohani

About half a century ago, the great Nepalese poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota thus described the hopes and aspirations of the people and demanded their rightful share from the state in his famous Bhailo Song:

Either give us our rightful share!
Or with hands repair!
Give us shelter, food and cloth,
O Nepal! Bhailo!

Perhaps very few people then understood about their rightful share because the legacy of treating the state as private property, though in a latent way, was very much in continuity in the changed setting even after the overthrow of Rana rule. And for the majority of the people, it was quite an accepted social value loaded and conditioned through the long rule of family oligarchy.

The contradiction between liberal democratic values and authoritarian psyche of the rulers competing and grabbing their share of material gains at the cost of the teeming millions did not then pose a threat. The reason as we have already spelled out was the fact that people accepted their own exploitation by the new masters as a part of their living. It was so because their minds still remained conditioned and to change would mean a new awareness ripening only through time. The other part of the governing reality was that democracy in Nepal came not as a historic process but out of the changed regional equations and thus more in the form of romanticism. But for an outstanding poet who could delve through, the rightful share of people remained the central theme shaping the transition and transformation of society in relation to their level of awareness. And, it is rightly so. The days following unto the present attest to this fact.

This explains the restoration of democracy ten years ago as much as about the five year old Maoist people’s war. As time rolls on, it is becoming increasingly clear that both are intricately interwoven like rhetoric and romanticism governing the ground realities of the nation. People’s demand for their rightful share of food, shelter and cloth has increased in relation to their level of awareness, particularly more after the openness brought about by the democratic dispensation, intensifying the present activities both of the government and the Maoists. The result is a dangerously increasing level of violence and loot. The politicians who were considered as saviours at the time of restoration of democracy have shown their true faces now and are known almost to everybody as looters who have aborted the very cause of their struggle. However, they were then able to sell their brand of justice and equity to the people while advocating the lofty ideals of democracy, which they never practised.

We thus have a democracy devoid of its soul which is used as a legitimate instrument for augmenting their loot. Each successive loot ultimately squeezes the poor of their ability to remain within the present political boundary. Realising this and keeping the people’s power at bay, they have increased their doses of rhetoric so much that people have begun to see its hollowness, thus, adding strength to the Maoist activities. This desperation has thrust them to intensify their loot further because they consider it as the best security for future. Alternatively, now as it seems, it is insecurity-induced loot. This is how disenchantment with the whole democratic exercise is acquiring momentum giving enough grounds for the Maoist people's war.

This has begun the exodus. The poverty-driven people whose level of awareness has not only disenchanted them with democracy but also made them look for an alternative. They have found Maoists very tempting because of their romanticism. Now we see how the Maoists allure such people into their fold demanding their rightful share of food, shelter and cloth. This is how they get involved in the people’s war swayed by the slogan of ‘either goes this life or comes a new dawn.’ No doubt, life is going but the dawn is as elusive as ever before. However, their struggle continues with added fervour and their strength lies in the increased displacement of the poorest caused by the successive loot of the new rulers. And, the Maoists have their dialectics to galvanize the displaced lot. The rulers, on the other hand, have found their mission of containing Maoists pretty lucrative because it has provided them another way of looting the national coffer.

All this has been possible primarily because Nepal no longer remains the isolated country it was fifty years ago and also the level of people’s awareness has increased many times despite the country being one of the poorest of the poor. Because of Nepal’s increased contacts and interaction with the international community, both loot and violence can go on increasing inside the country. Democracy is supported, so is people’s war. Colossal amount of money is coming inside the country for development to support and sustain democracy so that the quality of life of the people can change.

But a significant amount of such money is cycled back in the name of private rulers like that of Suharto and his conglomerates, distorting the economy and making the poor poorer. Likewise, people’s war does have its fraternity. The rulers are looting for sustaining democracy through increased rhetoric and, likewise, the Maoists are looting as a part of their people’s war for a new dawn. In the same way, the government is killing the Maoist more in fake encounters and Maoist are killing the police anywhere possible. What we see these days is the interplay of rhetoric and romanticism pushing the level of loot and violence to new heights. Thus, this land of ours is turning miserable every day. A few are basking on new found wealth and glory in the name of the majority who are increasingly becoming alien in their own country.

This interplay has to stop. The first step for the politicians is to avoid being a joker like the way they made the government a buffoon in the recently concluded Dinesh Sharma episode. Sharma is expelled, say the Maoists proposing fresh round of dialogue. Whether his expulsion is for public consumption or genuine is hard to understand. Nevertheless, Maoist leader Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai’s long article published in Kantipur about ten days ago seems genuine in terms of its thrust for a new order where all the political forces can participate in building a better Nepal requiring the need of a new constitution. The very present openness of Nepal that has sustained the Maoists so far is the very factor that will never allow them to have total victory. And, likewise, this very openness impairs the government’s striking strength in vanquishing the Maoists. So, instead of trying to be the victor or the vanquished, they both should be involved in building a new Nepal. To this end, firstly, small actors should be cut to their size so that they can not continue polluting the troubled waters as they have been doing. Secondly, they should genuinely explore the possibilities of how they can work together for a new constitution.