Notwithstanding the fact that an ultimatum given by the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) to call off their agitation ended on Monday, the workers of star hotels in the capital are still continuing with their agitation, according to media reports.

An emergency meeting of HAN held on November 27 set a 72-hour deadline to withdraw the agitation. It had warned to shut the hotels if the protest was not called off during the deadline.

HAN chief executive officer Madhav Om Shrestha said there was no alternative than to close down the hotels if the agitation continued.  He said all star hotels would shut down if consensus is not reached to end the protest.

All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Trade Union (ANHRTU) affiliated to the Unified CPN (Maoist) has called the protest at Hotel Radisson, Yak and Yeti, Hyatt Regency and Shangrila demanding a 40 percent raise in salary and 100 percent in dearness allowance for the past 10 days.

Workers of the hotels are carrying out their duties tying black bands on their arms.

However, ANHRTU chairman Ramesh Babu Panta said they were compelled to launch the protest as management body ignored their ‘genuine’ demands. If the hotels were locked up, we would unlock them and operate, he said.

According to HAN, at present, workers of five star hotels are getting Rs. 13,950 monthly, four star hotels Rs. 10,560 monthly while resort workers earn Rs. 10,000 and three star hotels Rs. 7,500.

The continued stand-off between the management body and workers pertaining to star hotels will only dog the tourism industry, which has been gradually posting remarkable growth, cautions a tourism entrepreneur. nepalnews.com