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PM instructs industries minister to resolve labour dispute as workers continue stir

With the country's industrial sector in the throes of collapse due to militant unions, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Sunday directed Minister for Industries Astha Laxmi Shakya to take immediate steps to reopen factories that have shut operations because of ongoing disputes between entrepreneurs and workers regarding minimum wage.

In a ministerial level meeting held at his official residence in Baluwatar, PM Dahal directed Minister Shakya to resolve the dispute by implementing the minimum daily wage of Rs 190 the government has set for workers.

The concerned ministries are holding a meeting at the Finance Ministry today to devise ways to reopen more than 500 factories in Sunsari-Morang Industrial Corridor that were forced to close down due to shortage of raw materials caused by the transport strike of agitating workers in Biratnagar and blockade at the Jogbani border point.

Minister of Labour and Transport Management Lekh Raj Bhatta told a local radio station that he was hopeful that they will come up with a plan to reopen industries today.

Workers of Sunsari-Morang industrial corridor have already warned they would unleash more stringent protest beginning today if the government continued to remain lackadaisical towards their demand.

The 16-hours of daily power cuts the nation is facing from today also featured prominently in the meeting, according to Minister for Water Resources Bishnu Poudel.

He said PM Dahal instructed him to devise ways to immediately reduce the load-shedding hours by checking electricity leakages and starting repair works at the damaged power plants.

Meanwhile, normal life in eastern region has been severely affected due to the transportation strike organized by agitating workers of Sunsari-Morang corridor in the region from the past one week.

Vehicular movement has come to a complete halt in the East-West Highway due to the strike.

In another report, the agitating jute mill workers have continued with their blockade at the Nepal-India border point at Jogbani for the seventh straight day.

Due to the blockade at one of the busiest border point, trucks carrying goods from India have not been able to enter Nepal. nepalnews.com ag Jan 11 09