Workers united
A decent minimum wage is the right of every worker
In early May 1886 in Chicago, a demonstration demanding shorter workdays for workers went awry. The rally, which had largely been peaceful, erupted into gunfire after an unidentified demonstrator hurled a dynamite bomb at the police, who opened fire in response. A watershed moment in the history of labour rights, the Haymarket affair, as it later came to be known, led to the formal enshrining of the eight-hour work day, which previously had generally been from “sunrise to sundown,” often resulting in workdays longer than 14 hours. The first congress of Second International, an organisation of socialist and labour parties from 20 countries, in 1889, decided to mark May 1 annually as May Day. Since then, 80 countries across the world have formally recognised May Day as a public holiday where labour unions stage rallies and demonstrations in support of labour rights. Nepal, which first marked May Day in 1963, declared it a public holiday in 2007. On this day, it is important to remember that the incomes of workers in any industry, including the media, should be sufficient for a dignified life. The gap between the highest paid and the lowest paid worker in any society—income disparity—is a social evil.
This year, on the 124th International Labour Day, various trade unions held rallies and demonstrations across the country and in the Capital, demanding a hike in minimum wage. With inflation at 10 percent, the current minimum wage of Rs 6,200 a month and a daily wage of Rs 231 seem woefully inadequate. The trade unions are demanding that the minimum wage be fixed at Rs 12,000, taking into account the skyrocketing price of essential commodities. The demands for increase in minimum wage are legitimate. It should be kept in mind that the 1992 Labour Act dictates that the minimum wage be revised by taking into account inflation every two years. Based on the Act, the government has formed a tripartite Minimum Wage Determination Committee, with representation from the government, the private sector and the trade unions, which will look into demands for a hike in minimum wage and make a recommendation accordingly.
The Nepali economy has been slowly recovering since the end of the war years but investment is still low and its growth rate is still sluggish. While the environment for workers has improved, there are still periodic disputes between unions and employers, especially in hotels and industries. For example, in 2011, a major conflict between trade unions and employers resulted in the shutdown of Surya garments, putting hundreds of workers out of jobs. Avoiding such labour disputes is in the interest of both the workers and the owners of capital. For this, in the short-term, the government will need to ensure a more decent minimum wage for workers. But longer-term reforms will need to be enshrined in the to-be-written constitution itself. With the free market firmly entrenched as the dominant economic ideology, a balance will have to be struck between greater workers’ rights and creating a proper investment atmosphere for the private sector.
Published on: 2 May 2013 | The Kathmandu Post
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