May 7: Stakeholders of the private sector have said their serious attention has been drawn towards the government’s decision to raise the minimum wage of workers.

The Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI), Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) have said that the minimum wage fixed by the government of workers would be difficult to implement owing to the current crisis of Covid-19.    
Issuing a joint press statement here today, the umbrella bodies of entrepreneurs in the country have urged the government not to interfere in the process of determining wages for the labourers.    

In a notice published on the Nepal Gazette on May 3, the government had raised the minimum wage of workers effective from the upcoming fiscal  year. As per the decision, employers have to pay a labourer a minimum wage of Rs 15,000 per month from the next fiscal year.    
The organizations have said that the partial and full prohibitory order enforced in 56 districts in the country to contain the second wave of Covid-19 had affected over 700,000 enterprises.  They were of the view that the private sector enterprises might not be able to pay regular wages in such a situation.

The statement added that the private sector has been struggling to meet the daily expenses as the prohibitory orders have been extended by the government. In such a situation, they expressed surprise at the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage of workers.
At a time when the small and medium scale enterprises have been hardest hit due to the health crisis, the organizations, through the press statement, have appealed to the government not to interfere in the determination of the minimum wages of the workers. They said that they will decide the matter on the basis of mutual understanding.