Industrial Relation Forum to be revived

KATHMANDU, JAN 01:

The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry ( FNCCI ) plans to revive the Industrial Relation Forum (IRF) within a week.

The apex body of the private sector has decided to restore the forum which has remained dysfunctional for seven years to bring employers and trade union leaders under the same roof to discuss their issues.

Pashupathi Murarka, chairman of the Employers Council (EC) at the FNCCI , said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed with trade unions within a week to set up the forum. “We had planned to sign the MoU on Tuesday, but it had to be postponed as one of the trade union representatives is out of town,” he said.

The FNCCI also said its project to set up the forum became possible after the three major trade unions approved its concept paper. The FNCCI had prepared the concept paper six months ago and had discussed it thoroughly among the trade unions and employers.

Murarka said that trade union leaders had agreed to implement the programme and applauded the FNCCI ’s step during a preliminary discussion on the draft. As defined by the concept paper, the IRF will have representation from employers and three major trade unions — the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF), Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) in the country. The bilateral forum will meet once a month to sort out differences and maintain harmonious relations between the employers and employees.

With the trade unions working to serve the interest of political parties, maintaining a favourable work environment has been challenging for industrialists.

The industrial sector has witnessed severe disturbances due to the unruly behaviour of labour unions. Surya Nepal, a subsidiary of ITC India, shut down its garment factory in Biratnagar last year citing violent activities by trade unions. However, entrepreneurs said that trade union militancy had lessened of late. Meanwhile, Murarka said that the move to set up the IRF was taken to sort out differences between industrialists and workers before they hurt the business environment.

“The forum, which will be an informal platform for continuous dialogue between the labour and management, will help to create a prosperous industrial relationship,” he added.

The FNCCI had a similar forum in the past, but it did not last long as it failed to yield the expected results. FNCCI officials said that the forum would

only include government-recognized trade unions and other small trade unions in the first phase. “Even government officials will be included in the future,” said Murarka.

Source: The Kathmandu Post