KATHMANDU, FEB 11 - 2012
Labour Relation Reform Committee (LRRC), Hetaunda, on Friday asked the management and workers of Unilever Nepal to come forward for talks without any conditions.
Unilever’s Basamadi-based factory has remained closed since Sunday as both the parties hold on to their demands.
On Wednesday, after failing to solve the dispute themselves, the agitating workers and factory management had sought the government’s help. And, the LRRC’s move came as part of the intervention of the Department of Labour.
The workers have demanded a 50 percent pay hike and other allowances, interest-free housing loan worth Rs 1 million per person and house maintenance fee of Rs 100,000 per person per year, among others.
However, the management has been rejecting the demands, terming them unreasonable. It says the workers’ salaries have already been increased by 69 percent between 2009 and 2011, even when the company’s profit rose by just 37.3 percent.
“Friday’s dialogue couldn’t bear any fruits as both the parties stuck to their stances,” said Man Bahadur BK, director general at the Department of Labour (DoL), which mobilised the Labour Office and LRRC to take care of issue.
During Friday’s talks, the management said it would sit for the dialogue only after the workers resume the factory operations, according to BK. The workers, on the other hand, said they would resume the factory only after the management’s pledges to fulfil their demands.
BK said LRRC has also asked the warring parties to appoint an intermediary on the basis of mutual understanding and trust so as to resolve the issue soon.
Source: Kantipur
Labour Relation Reform Committee (LRRC), Hetaunda, on Friday asked the management and workers of Unilever Nepal to come forward for talks without any conditions.
Unilever’s Basamadi-based factory has remained closed since Sunday as both the parties hold on to their demands.
On Wednesday, after failing to solve the dispute themselves, the agitating workers and factory management had sought the government’s help. And, the LRRC’s move came as part of the intervention of the Department of Labour.
The workers have demanded a 50 percent pay hike and other allowances, interest-free housing loan worth Rs 1 million per person and house maintenance fee of Rs 100,000 per person per year, among others.
However, the management has been rejecting the demands, terming them unreasonable. It says the workers’ salaries have already been increased by 69 percent between 2009 and 2011, even when the company’s profit rose by just 37.3 percent.
“Friday’s dialogue couldn’t bear any fruits as both the parties stuck to their stances,” said Man Bahadur BK, director general at the Department of Labour (DoL), which mobilised the Labour Office and LRRC to take care of issue.
During Friday’s talks, the management said it would sit for the dialogue only after the workers resume the factory operations, according to BK. The workers, on the other hand, said they would resume the factory only after the management’s pledges to fulfil their demands.
BK said LRRC has also asked the warring parties to appoint an intermediary on the basis of mutual understanding and trust so as to resolve the issue soon.
Source: Kantipur
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