5 Questions

A one day seminar was organized by the Nepal Foundation for Advanced Studies last week under theme of "Worker's Rights in the SAARC Social Charter" wherein various Nepali scholars participated in. The floor discussions were simply superb. Looking at the gravity of the topic and its relevancy in today's context, we decided to talk to some of the participants at the seminar. The questions were understandably related to the Worker's rights in the SAARC Social Charter. We hope that the answers by the nation's qualified intellectuals will benefit our readers academically within and without. Below the results: Chief editor

In South Asia, we should ensure that worker’s have the right to work

-Dr. Meena Acharya

We need to be a little more innovative. There are two perspectives-- political and economic. Although politically, it may make sense to talk about worker’s rights, economically, rights can be implementable only when the labor resource becomes scarce, not when it is abundant. Even in the developed state of the US it is not the blue-collar worker who is finding his/her wages rise matching the economic growth. It is the higher management people whose wages are rising unprecedentedly. It is in this context, that rights should be discussed. And in South Asia, we should ensure that worker’s have the right to work on minimum wage rather than looking for other rights. Moreover,

The first right in the charter should be the right to work.

?Then the right to be retrained and re-deployed.

?Right to social security, health and so on.

?The responsibility should be a joint social effort among, capital, labour and the state, and implemented by the state.

?Responsibilities that are not implementable because of non-compliance by one party or the other should come under joint implementation by all the three.

?In the international bargaining for capital (FDI) the worker should be included.

?Migrant labor rights should be equal.

We have adopted a capital-biased perspective on development

-Prof. Dr. Guna Nidhi Sharma (TU)

The SAARC charter is just in the skeletal phase and details are yet to be spelled out in the coming SAARC meetings. We need to take note of the trends of today while making the charter.

?Our negotiators should be able to articulate the needs of our national labor. Otherwise, our commitments will contradict each other, just like signing both ILO conventions with one hand and allowing the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to dictate our policy with the other.

?We have formulated policies to attract FDI and the worker’s rights were ignored. We have adopted a capital-biased perspective on development.

?There are two perspectives to what a social charter should do-- social protection and social development. The one that came from Sri Lanka (Marga Institute) talks about ‘social development’ while there is also the ‘social protection’ aspect that has yet to be included. The worker’s need has more to do with protection at the moment (sick leave, their privileges etc.)

?We should be taking note of the employment factor, when we talk of labor rights. Only through employment can we provide benefits to workers. But if we look at the post-1990 scenario, unemployment is on the rise which are shown by various reports. The government. data are not privately believed even by people manning responsible government agencies. Keeping people unemployed makes them a liability.

?Nepal should focus on articulating the needs of the laborers of the unorganised sector which covers 80 per cent of the workers. Such an approach may make our proposals unique. Because of the size of the informal sector, efforts towards self-employment can also be included in the charter.

?After employment, comes the fair distribution of the benefits of employment. Social benefits need to be defined and distributed fairly.

The Charter does not talk about indigenous people or the dalit(s)

Dr. Krishna B. Bhattachan (TU)

The SAARC itself makes un-implementable declarations. Who is going to take it seriously when it says it will make and implement the social charter? For example, how could it promise to eradicate poverty by 2001 when it very well knew that it was not possible?

?How representatives are the people involved in drafting social charter? How representative are the unions in South Asia?

?The charter does not talk about indigenous people or the dalit. How can it be social?

?Protection from caste-ethnic-gender exploitation needs to be included.

?There are also other sectors between the visible and invisible which are very visible but are ignored, like prostitution.

We need to look at the South Asian context while designing a charter. Metropolitan laborers are considered free and satellite country laborers are considered forced. India can be both free and forced depending on whether you look at it globally or regionally. Are the South Asian states democratic, or predatory? Strong or weak? Disposable or indespensable? These factors affect in having protection clauses. South Asia is heterogeneous. How can a homogenous charter work is such a situation?

The HMG/N should follow a policy to keep foreign workers out

Hiranya Lal Shrestha ( former MP CPN- UML)

There is a need to include women and children’s rights also in the SAARC social charter.

?In Nepal, the irony is that the government is giving out loans, in additions to the worker’s own loans and sale of his property, to go outside the country for employment. The government should be rather following a policy to keep foreign workers out. Employment policy should always give priority to the natives. Secondly when foreign workers are to be brought in we can give priority to SAARC laborers.

?We have to bring change in the cultural outlook so that labor becomes dignified, not marginalised. Without that labor rights cannot be had.

?The gaps between classes and genders need to be narrowed. Women need to be given their rights.

?The globally set standards of rights need to be applied to SAARC.

?South Asian workers are going to the Gulf countries, but we do not have a labor attach there. Where our representatives are not there, other SAARC nations should represent our workers, just like the EU has started doing. There are many cases of exploitation in the Gulf.

?In Hetauda, the MNCs are not providing permanent employment, just contract employment by taking the high and mighty in confidence. There should be a SAARC level commitment to reduce such exploitation.

?The labor issues should be taken as a human right issue. I hope FES raises the issue in other SAARC capitals as it has its offices there too.

Foreign employment being promoted while we import laborers

Dhurbahari Adhikari (Senior Journalist)

The enforceability issue is important. But it should not mean that issues should not be included if they cannot be enforced. May be if the issues are included in the charter they may some day be implemented. If it is not included, it will never be implemented.

?Foreign employment is being promoted even while we import laborers. Remittance may be a good thing, but Nepalese laborers have so far been doing dirty, dangerous and menial jobs without much pay. If they are trained and sent abroad, the remittance figures could be bigger.

?I do not agree to the reservation issue. It should be a meritorious system, not according to their ethnicity but according to merit.

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