May 1: The condition of millions of workers remains pathetic despite celebrating the May Day on Friday. More than 95 percent of industries are closed due to the lockdown and over 80 percent of workers haven’t got their remuneration of Chaitra 2076 (mid-March to mid-April). Due to this, their livelihood has been affected a lot.

According to workers’ union,  around five million people involved in the formal and informal sectors have been rendered jobless in Nepal.

Among them, 30 percent are working in the formal sector. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, there are around 1.6 million workers in the formal sector of Nepal. Even more people are working in the informal sector. 

Neither the government has brought any scheme to address their problems nor have the employers taken responsibility during the global crisis. Therefore, the workers’ unions have been seeking support from the government for relief package. The workers are facing hard time as many of them haven’t received the salary of last month. According to Pushkar Acharya, president of Nepal Trade Union Congress, the employers and government should be take full responsibility during such situation. 

“Though we have been discussing about this issue with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) since one week, they have still not come up with a concrete decision,” said Acharya. He said that the Ministry of Labor and Employment should strictly monitor whether the employers have been providing the salary or not.

According to Binod Shrestha, president of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT), it has been difficult to provide relief to the worekrs due to lack of identification.

He has demanded that the contractors and employers who haven’t paid salary to their workers should be penalized. The government should strictly provide assurance that the workers won’t be jobless and they don’t have pay cuts, he said.

On the occasion of May Day, GEFONT issued a declaration demanding different wards to collect the data of labourers and provide them with relief. Also, GEFNOT has demanded that employers should not be allowed to lay off the workers during such difficult times and they should get full salary.