HEADLINE NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Govt abolishes bonded labour system
UML welcomes Govt decision Kamaiyas freed of debts

Kathmandu, July 17 (RSS): His Majesty’s Government has, with immediate effect, abolished the bonded labour system existing in the country as a quintessence of social inequality.

Making a statement of public interest at the House of Representatives and the National Assembly today, Minister for Land Reforms and Management Siddharaj Ojha announced that the cabinet meeting today took a decision prohibiting any one from employing any person as a bonded labourer throughout the Kingdom of Nepal. He also informed Parliament that the decision will come into effect from today.

He said that notwithstanding the constitutional and other legal provisions which prohibit the trafficking of any individual or the practice of slavery as well as exploitation of labourers in any form against one’s will bonded labour system had been existing in some parts of the country and the helpless and illiterate labourers were reeling under severe exploitation as bonded labourers. On line with the cabinet decision all such bonded labourers have been automatically freed from today, he added.

The act of working and making one work as bonded labourer on the basis of any written or verbal bond or against the existing law will, hereafter, be punishable it will be punishable he said, adding that any such deeds signed for this purpose with any bonded labourer or any member of his family will be regarded null and void from today.

Ojha said that since the bonded labourers are freed from today they needn’t pay any due debts they owe to their masters.

Minister Ojha also informed that a decision has also been taken to register with the Parliament Secretariat a bill designed to make procedural and institutional arrangements for ensuring just wages and, rights and well-being of labourers in any domestic and agriculture sector.

Meanwhile, the CPN-UML has withdrawn the adjournment proposal registered at the Parliament Secretariat for the liberation of the Kamaiyas or bonded labourers.

CPN-UML’s Bharat Mohan Adhikari informed the House of Representatives today that the proposal was withdrawn since the government has taken positive steps to resolve the problem.

Speaking of the need for the government to pay attention to settling the bonded labourers and to form a monitoring committee for this purpose, Mr Adhikari noted that his party has long been raising voice for the emancipation of the Kamaiyas and thanked HMG for declaring them freed.

MP Narayan Man Bijukchhe complained that the main opposition party agreed with the government without the knowledge of other parties, demanding that the land they were tilling should be transferred in their names or at least half of the land should be given to them.

MP Chitra Bahadur KC of the Rastriya Janamorcha observed that whether the Kamaiyas would get the land they are tilling is a major question though HMG’s announcement is good to some extent.

Similarly, at the National Assembly meeting today, when Minister for Land Reforms and Management Siddharaj Ojha declared the Kamaiyas freed from today, whip of the main opposition party Surendra Prasad Pandey welcomed the government’s decision as a positive step and spoke of the need to provide settlement to some 200,000 bonded labourers in the country.

Meanwhile, Minister for Finance Mahesh Acharya has expressed the commitment of introducing socio-economic programmes with new approach for the rehabilitation of the bonded labourers after the historic announcement of elimination of the bonded labour system.

Speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives after the announcement of the government to liberate the bonded labourers, Mr Acharya said that the government would introduce skill development, income generation and employment programmes conducted through landless squatters problems resolution commission for the rehabilitation and livelihood of the bonded labourers.

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