The effects of the global economic recession after the covid epidemic have also started to be felt in Nepal. 

The Department of Labor and Occupational Safety has stated that the number of foreign workers coming here for employment has decreased.

Compared to the previous financial year, the number of foreigners who received work permits has decreased by 10 percent. In the F.Y. 2079/80, the number was 2,994, which has been reduced to 2,685 in the last fiscal year.

Among the citizens of 96 countries who have taken labour permits for employment in Nepal, Chinese citizens rank at first. 

There is a provision in the Labor Act that states that the establishments operating in Nepal can hire only 5 percent foreign workers.

Although the 2075 guideline for the labour permit system of foreign nationals provides that skilled manpower who are not available in Nepal can be imported and employed, it is found that even unskilled workers come to Nepal due to the arrangement of allowing foreign workers to be employed in the amount decided according to the agreements with various agencies of the Government of Nepal.
 

The General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) organized a workshop in Kathmandu on November 12 to discuss the concept paper prepared by GEFONT on occupational safety and health.

GEFONT President Binod Shrestha said that occupational safety and health are the natural rights of workers and that this issue is not a matter of debate.

President Shrestha said that since occupational safety and health are important issues for workers, GEFONT has formed a separate department to handle its work, and GEFONT is also working on a separate policy on occupational safety and health.

In the workshop, Vice President Bidur Karki said that no matter how well occupational safety and health expert Yuvraj Bhatta presents the law or concept paper, the regulatory and managerial role would be important to make occupational safety and health worker-friendly.

He said that GEFONT has been doing work to make workers aware of occupational safety and health and said that this should be continued to make it effective.

In the workshop, GEFONT Vice President Jitendra Shrestha, Kamal Gautam, Janak Chaudhary and Sita Lama, General Secretary Laxman Sharma, Vice General Secretary Naranath Luintel, Secretary Belimaiya Dhale, Krishna KC, and Taranidhi Pant gave their opinion on the concept paper.

Similarly, GEFONT Gandaki Province President Rudra Khatri, Tea-Coffee Workers’ Union of Nepal President Sant Kumar Rai, and legal expert Bhakti Ghimire gave suggestions regarding the concept paper.
 

The 13th meeting of the GEFONT Labor Relations Council of the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) was held on December 7 at the GEFONT Assembly Hall, Putalisadak, under the chairmanship of Council Chief Janak Chaudhary.

In the meeting, GEFONT General Secretary Laxman Sharma said that it is necessary to increase the effectiveness of the GEFONT Labor Relations Council in our rapidly changing labor market. Additionally, GEFONT affiliated constituent unions and provincial secretaries presented details of labor disputes and incidents in their respective areas of work.
 

The General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) President Binod Shrestha has said that GEFONT should move forward by amending the difficulties seen in the implementation of the labor law and that GEFONT believes that there should be one labor law for all labourers. 

Since the major trade unions of Nepal also have the same opinion, he said that all unions, including GEFONT, will move forward in a planned manner in the process of amending the labor law. President Shrestha made this statement during a discussion on the Gap Analysis study report for reforming labor laws at the GEFONT Trade Union School on December 11.

ITUC Asia Pacific Human and Trade Union Rights Chief Monina Wang spoke about ILO Convention 98 and related conventions and said that ITUC Nepal will collaborate with trade unions to make Nepal's labor laws labor-friendly and effective. 

The participants had curiosities and provided suggestions on the study report on the Labor Act 2074 and the Trade Union Act 2049 and Advocate Bhakti Dhimire’s presentation on the challenges of implementation.

General Secretary Laxman Sharma facilitated the program which was attended by ANTUF Vice President Dhan Bahadur Gurung, representatives of SARTUC and union leaders.

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The General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) has organized an interaction program with MPs on the Elimination of Forced Labor and ILO Protocol 29 on December 16.

In the program chaired by GEFONT President Binod Shrestha, CPN-UML Secretary and Parliamentary Department Head Yogesh Bhattarai said that forced labor is punishable and that it is necessary to eliminate forced labor for the construction of a civilized society. For this, he said, CPN-UML has always been in favor of decent wages and social security guarantees based on the contributions of workers and decent work. He also said that CPN-UML MPs will play a role in the parliament for the formulation, amendment and implementation of laws.

GEFONT President Binod Shrestha said that GEFONT has been working hard to eradicate forced labor in western Nepal for the past three decades, but with the changes in the current labor world, the nature of forced labor has also changed, and for this, discussions will have to continue in a new way. Vice President Bidur Karki presented a working paper on behalf of GEFONT in the program.

At the event, ILO representative Ram Sharmakar said that the Ministry of Labor is forming a committee to conduct a gap analysis regarding the laws that need to be amended.

CPN-UML central member and chief whip Mahesh Bartaila, whip Sunita Baral, and dignitaries Ishwari Gharti Magar, Bijula Rayamajhi, Nirmala Devkota, Rukmani Koirala, Deepa Sharma, Shanti Chaudhary, provincial assembly members Bindu Shrestha and Urmila Sunuwar, and GEFONT Vice President Sita Lama shared their views on forced labor at the program.
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