Kathmandu, November 26: The Council affiliated with the International Trade Union Federation has called for including the workers in the informal and self-employment sectors into social security. In a joint statement, the three large trade unions of the country – General Federation of Trade Unions, Nepal Trade Union Congress, and All-Nepal Trade Union Federation (ANTUF) – drew the attention of the government to revise the Social Security Plan Work Procedure to guarantee social security to such workers.
Although the workers in the organized sector have social security protection in accordance with the labour laws, the labourers in the informal and self-employment sectors are not covered by the social security protection; hence, the social security plan has not become the attraction to the entire workers. Likewise, the Council also urged the government to launch the Unemployed Insurance Plan at the earliest as per the Social Security Act and based on contribution for protection of employment of workers.
The government is also urged to reform the health and medical treatment facilities so as to incorporate the contributor’s dependant family. Calling for making a provision to deposit the amount more than that determined voluntarily in the Social Security Fund in the form of gratuity or retirement fund, the Council urged the government to revise the laws that are not in consonance with the Contribution Based Social Security Act for managing the provident fund and the gratuity.
The Council and GEFONT President Binod Shrestha said in an online press conference organized on Wednesday (November 26) on the occasion of the Third Social Security Day that the government should bring a programme encouraging the workers by removing the shortcomings seen in the main social security plan.
He said that the low participation of the employers in the social security programme despite two years of its declaration proved that the employers were insincere towards the workers. As of Wednesday, 12 thousand 915 employers and 179 thousand 791 contributors have been enlisted in the social security programme.
“On the basis of listing and the situation of contribution, the leadership of the employers’ organisations participating in the policy and plan related to the programme also not enlisting their firms and industries proves that the employers are not honest,” Shrestha said, adding that although the government implemented the programme with the consent of the labour organizations and employers organizations, neither the government became serious nor the employers became sincere in its implementation. RSS
