Column

Year 2000 will be remembered as a year of exciting events in bringing Nepal and Britain closer at both official and people to people level. Britain's Prince Philip, Princess Anne, Foreign Secretary Robin Cook visited Nepal this year and Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon is coming in the middle of December. From Nepal, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and senior Nepali officials also visited London. Britain announced substantial hike in the pension to former British Gurkha soldiers this year.

The first-ever week-long event ‘Britain in Nepal Week’ was concluded with much fanfare in the Nepali capital. As President of Nepal-Britain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NBCCI) this writer had an opportunity to be present the Garden Party hosted by Queen Elizabeth II in London.

During the Rana regime when Nepal had closed her doors to the entire world, Britain was the only country besides India with which Nepal had diplomatic relations. The recruitment of Gurkha soldiers in the British Army has become a part of glorious tradition for both the countries. Since the advent of democracy in Nepal in 1950, the United Kingdom has remained one of the major development partners of Nepal. A number of infrastructure projects including the Dharan-Dhankuta road, Narayangarh-Butwal portion of the East West highway and Biratnagar-Jogbani roads are the living examples of close bilateral ties between the two kingdoms. Besides its support in agricultural extension programs and community forestry, the British assistance, including that of the British Council Nepal, has had profound impact in developing this Himalayan kingdom. The British government is also supporting programs related to human rights and strengthening democracy in Nepal since 1990. A number of British international non-governmental organizations are also working in community development and humanitarian aid works in Nepal.

With the onset of economic liberalization and globalization, countries around the world are looking towards new avenues for trade rather than aid. Nepal can be no exception. Though modest, Nepal’s economic relations with Britain are growing steadily.

Besides promoting traditional products like carpet and garments into British market, it is high time Nepali entrepreneurs look into exploring British market to sell their innovative products. Handicraft, Pashmina, medicinal herbs and a number of other Nepali products can find a good market in Britain. The promotional works of a London-based NGO, Friends of Nepal in Britain, in promoting Nepal as a tourist destination among British people needs to be commended.

British companies like British Telecom, British Wool and a number of others can promote their business interests in Nepal for mutual benefits. British Wool has already launched its initiatives in this regard. NBCCI on its part is working closely with the British Embassy in Nepal and Nepali mission in London to explore and exploit new areas of economic cooperation between the two countries.

Besides NBCCI, apex private sector body, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) needs to put in efforts and resources to develop bilateral relations in the economic sector. Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies and other government agencies also need to look for new opportunities. Though the government has been harping on the theme of economic diplomacy as part of its foreign policy agenda for the last few years, nothing concrete have been done as yet in this regard. There is an urgent need to better equip better Nepali missions abroad so as to achieve this ambitious goal for the benefit of Nepal and Nepali people.

As the world is moving toward a knowledge-based society, Nepal and Britain should also jointly explore areas for mutual benefit. Nepal can learn a lot from the use of Information Technology in Britain and some Nepali companies can try to outsource jobs from Britain as some of the companies are doing successfully in India. Nepal needs to address problems related to governance, administration and law and security without further delay to invite British and other foreign direct investment into the country.

The 20th century was a period of close traditional relations between Nepal and Britain. Let’s work together to make the 21st century an era of blossoming economic relations between us.

Khetan is the President of NBCCI and ex-officio vice-president of FNCCI as the Chairman of Employers’ Council of FNCCI)

Exports from Nepal Rs. 521.82 million
Imports from UK Rs. 1639.51 million
Nepal-UK JVs in Nepal
Operating 9
In the offing 2

Talking Thoughts Service at Extra Cost

By Prateek Pradhan

Exploited hotel employees seek wrong compensationIt is really interesting. Employees think that they are the people who
have made the hoteliers stinking rich. Hoteliers say if they had not invested, all these people and even the country would not have progressed. Both are dead right.

All the hotels run because of staff and all the staff get employment because entrepreneurs have put money in it. If the contribution of these two parties are put on a balance, it would not tilt a bit. So there should be no argument on the contribution of both the parties for the growth of the hospitality industry.

It is interesting that suddenly the idea of 10 percent service charge struck the minds of hotel employees. The good politics behind is, both the ruling party-supported Nepal Trade Union Congress and the main opposition party-supported General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions joined hands for this movement. Now the situation has reached the point from where neither hoteliers nor employees can back out. The employees want up to 10 percent from the total transaction of the hotels and the hoteliers have made up their mind to close down the hotels, rather than compromising to the "impossible" demand of the employees.

I strongly feel that the hotel labourers are among the people who are really exploited by their owners. There is no doubt that hotel job is one of the least paying jobs. As the hotel industry is still considered a field where anyone with or without any training can be employed (well except for handful technical jobs and in few star hotels), the employees are always exploited and deprived from the salary and perks they really deserve. However, the demand they have put now to gain respect for their labor is certainly not justifiable.

The basic idea of the labourers to turn the ‘tips’ into their right, is a wrong notion. Hotel is after all a service industry and the basic duty of all the hotel employees is to provide their level best service to the guests. And what they get in terms of tips is not what the customer should be compelled to pay. Tips are something that are gained through your behaviour, promptness, service, cheerfulness and positive attitude. If the tips are included in the hotel bills then there will be no difference between the government servicemen and the hotel staff. In such a case, a customer going to the hotel would be like standing in a queue for visa at Tribhuvan International Airport.

It is not that there are not such provisions of including tips in the bill in other countries, but that is not very successful. It is not popular as well. Some part of India, Bangladesh and other countries have this provision. And we all know these are not very popular destinations. There are countries like Japan where you are not supposed to provide any kind of tips to any employee. Similarly, there is a system, like in the USA where one is supposed to provide tips for every service one receives. Both of these customs have their positive and negative aspects. In Japan even without getting the tips the hotel people provide you the hospitality which you are really delighted to enjoy. But the negative part about this system is, if the staff is not motivated by salaries and other facilities, they may not be encouraged to offer their level best. In the USA, you get the best of service with the hope of better tips, but there are some places where if you do not pay tips you are treated badly also. At present, Nepali hotel employees are not in a position to adopt either of these system completely. They are neither paid well like the Japanese, nor is there the strong culture of tips system as in the USA.

They definitely need better salary, training, perks and other facilities. The staff are really deprived of these in almost all the hotels. It is true that hoteliers are doing their level best to provide the staff with the minimum possible facilities. In order to combat the poor state of affairs, these employees may go on strike, but there is no point asking for in-built service charge. Moreover, 10% charge is much more than what they deserve at the moment. A wrong move will certainly hamper the hotel business, which will ultimately hit back at the employees.

Here the government should also be more concerned. It should also consider the level of exploitation the staff are facing in hotels. There should be strict implementation of labour law and minimum wage facility in hotels. Similarly, the hotels are burdened in that they have to bear the load of unnecessary staff even during the off-season. The hotels should be allowed to keep part-time staff, and it should not be guided by the labor-law, which dictates that every staff should be made permanent after 3 months of service.

So it seems that while the hotel employees deserve better salary, perks and benefits, the 10 percent service charge can not be said to be justifiable. Hoteliers should also hold the right to hire and fire the staff. And the government should ensure free and fair competition among the hotels, which will provide better facilities to the staff as well as the guests.

Send your feedback to the editor: bizage@ecomail.com.np 1999 © Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. P.O. Box 876, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, NEPAL. Tel : 977 1 220 773, 243 566 . Fax: 977 1 225 407. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without prior permission. No part of the articles which appear in the internet version on BUSINESSAGE may be reproduced without the permission of Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. For reprinting rights, please write to us. Send us your feedback:contact us . CLICK HERE FOR PAST ISSUE. This site is best viewed at : 800 X 600 resolution

Nepal-Britain Economic Ties Stepping Into 21st Century

By Rajendra K. Khetan

Nepal and Britain have been enjoying close diplomatic relations for the last several decades. Now there is a need to transform this goodwill into a vibrant economic relationship

Talking Thoughts Service at Extra Cost

By Prateek Pradhan