NATIONAL 6 -(Spotlight Weekly)]

No-Win Game

The deadlock between hoteliers and hotel workers ruins the country's economy

By KESHAB POUDEL

A high-level group of investors canceled their trip to Nepal at the last minute. A European businessman keen on starting a joint venture project, withdrew his proposal. Both were the fall-out of the hotel deadlock.

In the last 10 years, the tourism industry has faced several ups and downs -- including the dramatic hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft last year -- but it has never suffered in the way it has today.

The two aforementioned cases are not isolated ones. Hundreds of investors have decided to leave the country because of the high-handness of workers.

A hotel remains closed : Sends wrong message

This time both hoteliers and employees -- in an ironic collaboration -- locked up hotel rooms. "This is a suicidal game for the country," said an economist.

Although the hoteliers called off their strike following talks with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, uncertainty continues over what will happen after the expiry of two-month suspension announced by hotel workers.

According to the hoteliers, Prime Minister Koirala gave assurances that he would resolve the issue of 10 percent service change amicably within two months.

"We called off the strike only after Prime minister Koirala fully assured us that he would find an acceptable solution through the high-level committee formed by the government a month ago," said Narendra Bajracharya, president of the Hotel Association of Nepal.

As the government is backing the trade unionists, there is room to believe that the deadlock could continue. All parties are trying to exploit the situation for their own benefit, but the economy of the country suffers.

Although the hotel workers postponed their strike for two months following negotiations with Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel, the hoteliers found it better to close down their hotels, even for a day.

The hotel workers said they had postponed their strike at the request of the government and agreed in principle with the government to study the issue of the 10 percent service charge and find a solution within two months.

But the hoteliers argued that they did not see any point in opening their hotels. In their view, the employees had only set another two-month deadline.

The decision to lock up hotels across the country was taken by the Industrial Friendly Committee (IFC), an association of 16 tourism-related organizations, including the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Nepal Bankers Association, at a meeting held on December 10.

The IFC had informed all its clients last week not to bring guests to Nepal, according to a press release. Tourism entrepreneurs and industrialists decided to lock up the hotels till the workers withdrew their demands unconditionally.

The Central Action Committee of hotel workers, however, reiterated that they would go for an indefinite strike after two months if their demand is not fulfilled.

According to the hoteliers, the closure of hotels will have long-lasting effects on the tourism industry.

Banks will lose billions of rupees in loans given to tourism entrepreneurs. The country will lose billion of rupees in revenue from hotels.

According to a study, the tourism industry is likely to incur a loss of over 500 million rupees each day of the closure. A total of 2,766 tourism industries, including airlines and banks, will be affected.

Tourism play a vital role in the country's economic development as it is one of the main sources of foreign exchange. But the average tourist arrival has drastically dropped this year and the deadlock could not have come at a worse time.

Although the hoteliers and hotel workers have called off their strike for now, it will take a long time to recover the damage that has been done.