Hotel workers affiliated to the UCPN (Maoist) closed down the Club Himalaya Resort at Nagarkot on Thursday while workers associated with the CPN-UML have threatened to shut down hotels in Pokhara over salary hikes.

Club Himalaya was shut down by the All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Association (ANHRWA) demanding implementation of the minimum pay as fixed by the government on March 15. On Thursday, 60 employees of Club Himalaya suddenly stopped work demanding a raise as fixed by the government. 

According to Club Himalaya, the closure has affected over 77 guests including Japanese, Swedish and British tourists staying at the resort. The three-star property had bookings for 80 rooms for Thursday. 

According to Rohit Moktan, president of the local committee of the ANHRWA, Club Himalaya, the government has fixed a raise of Rs 1,600 for the workers but the decision has not been implemented by the hotel.

Moktan said that they had held frequent discussions with the management, but the workers’ demands were ignored. “Finally, on Wednesday, when the management said that it would not hike the salary, all the workers stopped work completely.” 

The closure has forced hotel guests to move to other places. The workers have said that they will not resume work unless the management considers their demand. 

However, Club Himalaya proprietor Bikash Shakya said that the hotel had already increased the salaries by a greater amount than fixed by the government. “We cannot pay the salary as demanded by them now.” 

Even though the management agreed to pay Rs 1,050 more, the workers stuck to their demand that the management should give a raise as provisioned by the government.  

Meanwhile, the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) which is affiliated to the UML has threatened to close down all the hotels in Pokhara within a week if the workers do not get a raise as fixed by the government. GEFONT said that only three hotels in Pokhara have implemented the government’s decision. 

“If the management does not implement the government’s decision, we will be compelled to close down all the hotels in Pokhara,” said Yubaraj Poudel, president of the Gandaki unit of GEFONT.

As of now, Fishtail Lodge, the Shangri-La and the Pokhara Grand have implemented the new salary schedule fixed by the government. There are 400 hotels and 300 restaurants in Pokhara employing 10,000 workers. 

Published on: 25 November 2011 | The Kathmandu Post