Column

Though multiplicity of trade unions is helping the employers by providing opportunity for dividing the workers and ruling over them, it has been posing hurdles in finding lasting solutions to industrial disputes. This article tries to assess the possibility of success in the recent efforts by the national level trade unions to form an alliance

Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but chains" This was how Karl Marx, the prophet of the working class had declared about 150 years back. Although it is difficult to say anything on the unity of the workers at the global level, the workers in Nepal are very much divided and, moreover, hooked to the chains of one or other political party and faction. Anyone observing this year’s May Day celebration in Kathmandu could have realized this.

On the eve of May Day, Prime Minister G. P. Koirala was busy addressing the gathering of Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC). Likewise, former Prime Minister K. P. Bhattarai was occupied with another trade union closely linked to Nepali Congress, called Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions (DECONT). While Madhav Kumar Nepal, the General Secretary of CPN-UML, was busy addressing the mass meeting of General Federation of Nepalese Trade Union (GEFONT), the united-front of some leftist workers was busy picketing the Singhadurbar, the Central Secretariat. Apart from the three nationally recognized trade union federations mentioned above, there are a dozen or so trade unions affiliated with one or other political party. In the name of workers’ solidarity and brotherhood, they all celebrated May Day in their own fashion by bringing out their own programs.

Why are the workers so much divided here? Two plausible explanations could be made. First, the labor movement in Nepal is nascent, therefore, needs political clout and protection. Trade unionism was introduced only after the multi-party democracy in 1990. During thirty years of Panchayati rule, like political parties, they were banned. Being suppressed for so long, workers need political protection. This is why the unions are closely affiliated with political parties. Second, as in all other South Asian countries, the labor movement has been intricately linked with the political movement. In fact, in many occasions the two movements are very much inter-linked and hence indiscernible. Therefore, it is no wonder to have labor leaders occupying key positions in political hierarchy. The best example is Prime Minister G. P. Koirala himself, who, in mid forties, began his political career as a trade union leader at Biratnagar Jute Mills.

The vertical divisions in the trade union movement very much exemplify the political affiliation of trade unions. As for example, DECONT was born at a time when Nepali Congress Party was divided into the camps of "74" and "36". As long as Nepali Congress is internally divided there is little chance that NTUC and DECONT will ever come close. Similarly, with the splitting away of ML from UML in 1998, although unsuccessful, an attempt was made to register a trade union by the name of ICONT.

If mushrooming political parties at the top provide an easy forum for divided unions, then the provisions in the Trade Union Act provide another breeding ground for multiple unions at the enterprise level. According to the Trade Union Act, a trade union can be registered with the signature of one fourth of the workforce. Thus, in a single enterprise, there is a possibility of having as many as four unions. In some cases, particularly in state-owned enterprises where there is maximum laxity in labor relations, there are more than four unions. Aside from the inter rivalry of the unions and the show of political strengths, when you have multiple unions, you need to provide, at least, multiple office space for the unionists. It is said that Nepal Electricity Authority contributes Rs. 800,000 per year for the administration of its four unions. And, moreover, when you are in the union, it means you are relieved from your regular office duties. In Nepal Bank Ltd., out of 6341 employees around 1,100 are active union members and nearly half of them are involved in full time union activities. Having to spend their time in administering union elections, the Labor Officers, the supervising government agency, already feel like a mini election commission. The drafters of the Act were very much aware of the problems of union multiplicity. But they were constrained by the very fundamental rights provisioned in the multi-party constitution - i.e., the right to organize.

Interestingly, on the eve of May Day, important messages came out from the two prominent trade union leaders. First, Mukunda Neupane, the GEFONT President, remarked that he is very much in favor of a unified labor movement in Nepal. However, he said that the political parties will never allow for a unified movement. For such a movement will be a too powerful body to deal with. Neupane also agreed that divided movement is costing workers in terms of program duplication. He further added that, on pro-worker issues, he is ready to join hands even with his arch-rival, Nepali Congress Party. However, what is not clear from his statement is what he meant by the unification of labor movements – whether he meant the unification of NTUC and DECONT, or the unification of GEFONT and NTUC!

Laxman Basnet, NTUC President, went a step further calling meetings with GEFONT leaders on this issue. So far, two rounds of meetings between these two trade union federations have taken place. In his address to the 88th International Labor Conference held in Geneva in June, Basnet briefed that, to meet the growing challenges of economic liberalization and to provide social protection to the workers, he is very much up in favor of a single national-level trade union federation in Nepal. In light of these remarks, a question can be asked: Is it possible to have a unified trade union movement in Nepal?

The answer is, of course, no. When there is a remote possibility of NTUC-DECONT unification, one may forget thinking about GEFONT-NTUC unification. The union rivalry has gone to such an extent that a separate clause on trade union representation has to be worked out in the amended Trade Union Act. The new clause speaks that while nominating the trade union representatives (particularly for International Labor Conference representation) the government should nominate the representatives either on a proportional or a rotational basis.

The information on union membership is still a closely guarded secret. Only recently, GEFONT publicized its membership figure. In such an environment of mistrust and doubt, it is wishful to think about a unified work force. The white-collar workers are still hesitant to join these confederations and are working to form their own federation. Even to date, GEFONT has not admitted to it unions from the state-owned enterprises, though it supports one of the equally myriad unions in these enterprises. Thus the deep division of the workers is still there. This division was very much explicit when the employees of state – owned enterprises went on strike recently but suddenly, the movement fizzled out when one of two unions decided to withdraw.

If union unification is not thinkable, what do the statements coming from the two leaders indicate? This may have to do with the softening of relationships between Nepali Congress Party and UML Party. If that is not so, then they are looking for a loose alliance where unified voice of the workers can be made heard. Particularly, after the introduction of economic liberalization program in the country, many issues are turning up where unions have shared concerns and interests. Some important issues are: privatization, introduction of social security bills, forced labor and child labor, gender discrimination and combating the threat of foreign workforce.

Furthermore, unlike unions, the employers are not that much vertically divided, at least when they take up labor issues. Some employers are already calling for the establishment of EPZs to neutralize the effects of rigid labor laws and growing trade unionism. While some foreign investors are wary of trade unions, others are resorting to non-Nepali workforce or contract workers. For an effective negotiation at the bargaining table, the unions seem to have realized that "in union there is strength". The weaker and divided unions mean a stronger employer. And, surprisingly, this is also not happening in the country.

Talking Thoughts

Oblige or be Obliged

By Prateek Pradhan

It’s an interesting politics. In fact, obliging others and being obliged by others are the basics of politics. As I try to keep off from the mud-slinging game of politics, I would like to dwell upon the interesting game of obligations taking place within the business sector.

To a great extent the relations between businessmen and journalists are based on the game of obligation. Mostly, it is the businessmen who oblige journalists and take benefits in return in the form of publishing favorable news or sometimes blocking the unfavorable ones. But there are ample number of journalists who also elbow each other to oblige big businessmen by publishing their news and advertorials so as to get compensated dearly.

As a journalist myself, I’m also in the game of obliging and being obliged, despite my sincere and honest effort to avoid it. As I personally know almost all the big business houses, my friends and relatives wish to exploit my relations. But they don’t understand that my relations are only superficial, and the businessmen who know me properly would not be willing to oblige me, as I’m not the type to fulfill their interests when they need to capitalize it through newspaper. Still on a couple of instances I had to stoop to the pressures of my near ones. However, I’m happy that whenever such instances (only about two or three times) have taken place they have realized that the businessmen are not willing to go off the board to favor me.

I’m always deluged by requests seeking my influence for the purchase of items ranging from TV to car and furniture to beer. Once it happened in a purchase of a motorbike. A close relative of mine later realized that he could have got better discounts from finance companies than going through me. In a similar instance, one of my seniors had to conciliate for a discount in mere four figures for a purchase of a four-wheeler, whereas the request had gone from a much influential person and myself.

If professionalism is really in the air, as it is being mentioned hundreds of times everywhere everyday, the game of obliging and being obliged should be stopped. If the news are made out of obligations only why should people buy our newspaper to quench their thirst for objectivity and unbiased news.

However, the game of obligations is not always bad. In fact, if obliging is non-material but of academic or spiritual type, it is rather good. By that I mean to say that publicity mongers should try to convince journalists about the importance of their points, and not just provide a good dinner or a piece of advertisement.

There are few entrepreneurs who really have started believing in this strategy. They have started talking to journalists without expecting any coverage. I have gone out with a few businessmen and business leaders who wish journalists to pay heed to their point of view and understand it. This, as I endorse, is a very good tactic of getting a good and deserving coverage. During interactions with journalists, they will also have opportunity to speak their heart out, and journalists will get a chance to really evaluate the honesty and intellectual capacity of the particular businessman. If such a businessman gets coverage, it will certainly evolve a better system that will be unbiased from the game of obligations.

Sadly, many of our business leaders just wish to buy newspapers, and wish to see whatsoever they dictate, that too in full context. They feel that providing a piece of advertisement or treating the journalists with a couple of dinners and drinks or small gifts would allow them to dictate what they wish. This is very much a wrong trend. If both journalists and businessmen don’t change habits to oblige or be obliged, the hay day of media will not last long.

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Talking Thoughts

Oblige or be Obliged

By Prateek Pradhan