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Kathmandu Thursday January 17, 2002 Magh 04, 2058.
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Hopeful
development
Even as authorities
debate endlessly over labour rights and regulations, hundreds of thousands of labourers
are eking out a livelihood under precarious conditions and terrifying uncertainty. Their
lot may now change for the better. With entrepreneurs, trade union leaders, and labour
rights advocates all grappling with the issues involved, the blue-collar workers can
hopefully expect a better deal. Various political parties and trade unionists have been
weighing the pros and cons of a draft Labour Act amendment document in a series of
discussions to address the concerns of one and all concerned with the labour market.
Discussions on the draft raked up issues and brought to the fore some major weaknesses.
While entrepreneurs and industrialists have been vociferously attacking the draft for
being investment-unfriendly, labour activists lament that the document is grossly
inadequate on other counts. Entrepreneurs are finding snags on the issues of hiring and
firing, salary and incentives and contract labour. They say too much is being given away
to labour. But labour activists are not ready to buy that argument, and counter that the
rights and facilities incorporated are far from enough. The draft also contravenes the ILO
convention, or so they claim. Formulating labour laws and regulations, and even more,
enforcing them properly is indeed a tricky affair. Given the host of complexities
involved, not all parties can be pleased at the same time. Some irresponsible channels
have time and again tried to bank on labour issues, taking advantage of the conflicting
interests between industry and labour. And in the process, the investment environment has
taken a beating. When all is said and done what really matters is the country’s
industrial performance, the return on investments, the welfare of labourers and the
general wellbeing of the economy. These call for an adequate labour dispensation as one of
the fundamentals, and that is what we are now hopefully headed for.
Successive governments
have talked endlessly about economic liberalisation and free trade, without having an
inkling of how to go about it. The ten percent service charge row that crippled last
year’s tourist season is a bitter reminder of just how well the Labour Ministry
understands the issues and how it handles them. It also portended the fate of the
much-hyped economic liberalisation drive. If the government were to follow trade
liberalisation without first settling the backyard issues concerning labour and laying the
necessary groundwork, it may just be courting disaster. And given the pressing need for
serious industrialisation, this dirt-poor country cannot afford to discourage investors
either. Due to inadequate labour laws, foreign investors have been either reluctant to
enter the Nepalese investment market, or having done so are now looking elsewhere. Those
who are using inadequacies in the law to reap high dividends at cost to the decent
livelihood of labourers need to be dealt with, but at the same time the genuine investors
should be given incentive so that much needed employment opportunities can be generated.
Faced with chronic unemployment, and the ensuing socio-economic anomalies, those who
relentlessly call for liberalisation policies must focus on creating job opportunities to
engage the hundreds of thousands of idle hands and minds. This is indeed an onerous task,
but without resolving problems pertaining to labour law, liberalisation will get bogged
down in labour unrest. Unfortunately, this had so far failed to dawn on policy makers. |
