Nepal

Kathmandu, June 17

The main opposition Nepali Congress lawmakers in both houses of the federal Parliament today asked the government to withdraw the Guthi (Trust) Bill from the Parliament. The bill was registered in the Upper House.

Speaking in the Lower House, the House of Representatives, Dilendra Prasad Badu said the proposed bill from the government was against the culture and tradition of the Nepali people. He said Nepali Congress would never accept the proposed billprovisions.

On the other hand, in the Upper House, the National Assembly, Badri Pandey said the government was against the culture of the people. &NC will not allow the government to do anything they like,& he said, adding that the bill was against tradition.

Lawmaker of Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal Laxman Lal Karna questioned the government for not following proportional inclusion stated in the constitution. He also said that the public notice issued by the Federal Public Service Commission to hire 9,161 civil servants for 515 local levels was against the law and the government should stop it.

During the ministry-wise budget discussion today, the House of Representatives discussed the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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Kathmandu, June 17

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today met Nepal Communist Party (NCP) lawmakers from Kathmandu valley to dwell on the Guthi Bill and told them that he would take a call on the issue after holding discussion in the Cabinet.

NCP lawmaker from Kathmandu Constituency No 8 Jeevan Ram Shrestha told the PM that the best option for the government would be to withdraw the bill as it attempted to treat all guthis — private and public — in the same manner.

Shrestha said he told the PM that outside Kathmandu valley farmers might have reason to claim tenancy right on guthi land, &but in Kathmandu, guthis have become an integral part of Newar communitysocial life. Guthis play vital role in promoting and protecting Newar culture.& He said if the bill was passed in the current form, it could destroy the Newar communityculture and traditions.

He said he told the PM that the government should withdraw the current Guthi Bill and start the process afresh proposing different solutions for different kinds of guthis.

NCP lawmaker Krishna Lal Maharjan, who represents the party in the House of Representatives from Lalitpur Constituency No 2, said almost all the lawmakers who spoke during consultations urged the PM to withdraw the bill. &Almost all the speakers told the PM that the bill had both positive and negative aspects, but since protest is growing day by day against the bill, it will be better if the government withdraws the bill now,& Maharjan said. He added that although the PM did not assure them that he would withdraw the bill, he was hopeful that the PM would act as per the suggestions of the lawmakers.

Prime MinisterPress Adviser Kundan Aryal said the PM told lawmakers that the government would take a decision on the bill as per their views.

Among those consulted by the PM included House of Representatives members Krishna Lal Maharjan, Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Pampha Bhusal, Province 3 assembly members Ajay Kranti Shakya and Basant Prasad Manandhar and Mayor of Kathmandu metropolis Bidya Sundar Shakya.

The PMPrivate Secretariat issued a press release stating that the PM told party lawmakers that he had been holding consultations on the bill and would soon take an appropriate decision on it.

Before consulting lawmakers, the PM had consulted Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Padma Kumari Aryal on the bill. Aryal declined to divulge the details of what she told the PM. When asked whether as line minister she was ready to withdraw the bill, Aryal said, &Some rumours are being spread against the bill and the government has a duty to dispel doubts about the billprovisions. But the government is ready to revise the bill if any provision of the bill or its phraseology adversely impacts peoplereligion and culture,& she said. Aryal added that the PMstatement delivered after his return from Europe tour echoed her feelings.

Prior to meeting the PM, ruling party lawmakers representing Kathmandu valley also met senior NCP leader and former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to express their concerns.

Maharjan said party lawmakers told Nepal that withdrawing the Guthi Bill would best serve the partyinterests in the face of growing protest against the bill. Nepal said he supported their stance on the bill.

Party lawmakers had told Nepal to convey their concerns to the PM, but since the PM wanted to hear lawmakers& grievances directly from them, Nepal did not say anything to the PM today, according to Maharjan.

Meanwhile, stakeholders and guthi operators continued their protest against the bill today. Protesters took to the streets in Basantpur, Thecho and Bangemuda. Locals are preparing to protest against the bill in Banepa of Kavrepalanchowk district tomorrow. Member of Save Nepa Valley Suraj Maharjan said they were preparing to hold a large rally in Kathmandu on June 19 in which people from Newar community from Kathmandu valley would come to Maitighar Mandala to protest the bill.

• Guthi Bill discussed in Lower House
• ‘Govt ready to resolve Guthi Bill issues&
• Newars continue protests against Guthi Bill
• EDITORIAL: Drop Guthi Bill
• People take to streets against Guthi Bill

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Kathmandu, June 17

Hotel Hyatt Regency announced today that it would temporarily cease operations and not accept any bookings until the dispute with the trade union was sorted out. As services at the hotel were affected due to workers& protests that have been going on for the past five days, the hotel has decided to stop operations for an indefinite period.

According to workers, the issue is not just about not receiving facilities, but also about misbehaviour by the management. &We only asked the management to fulfil clauses mentioned in our agreement letter, but they have not bothered to address our concerns. Moreover, they started exploiting us,& said Mukti Dahal, president of the hoteltrade union.

According to him, the high-level management team is not letting workers take leave or a break during working hours.

Dahal said, &Our agreement mentions that we can take 90 days compensatory leave annually, while we are getting only 78 days leave. Our sick leave has also been reduced to 30 days from 45 days per year.&

According to him, from 2004 to 2018, a total of Rs 179 million was collected as tips, but only Rs 20 million has been distributed among the workers so far. Currently, there are around 400 workers employed in Hyatt Regency.

Dahal claimed that the hotel management was using workers as scapegoats to avoid the controversy that it was embroiled in with the government. He said everything was okay till 2018, but in the beginning of 2019 the management changed the rules. &A controversy related to land and ownership of Taragaon Regency Hotel Ltd came to the fore in recent days. To digress from that issue, the hotel has been resorting to activities against workers,& he said.

On the other hand, Rani Bang, chief financial controller of Taragaon Regency, said, &It is not true that the hotel has cut workers& facilities. They are painting themselves as victims and holding protests against the law. To meet the interest of a few workers, others are being victimised in this protest.&

She accused the trade union of threatening the hotel management.

A notice published in the Nepal Gazette on April 22 warns against holding any protest or strike in tourism spots such as hotels, motels, restaurants and resorts. &Going against this law, the authorised trade union of All Nepal Hotel, Casino and Restaurant Workers Association at the hotel has conducted this protest,& Bang added.

As per the Human Resources Department of the hotel, on June 12 they had asked 15 workers of the Stewarding Department to give a written clarification for being absent for many days. And from the very next day, workers started protesting against the management, which is illegal.

As the situation was getting worse, the hotel management transferred their guests to other hotels. Currently, there are 280 rooms, including seven suites and 35 regency club rooms, in the hotel.

The room occupancy rate of Hyatt never goes below 50 per cent even during the off-season. The HR department has also accused the trade union of threatening workers to dissuade them from going to work.

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Kathmandu, June 16

Advocate Rajaram Ghimire today filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court, challenging State Affairs and Good Governance Committeedirective to Public Service Commission to withdraw its process of recruiting over 9,000 staffers at local levels.

The petitioner has named the SAGGC as defendant, among others. The House of Representatives panel had also told the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration to hire staff at local levels on contract basis, till permanent staff were appointed. The petitioner argued that there was no provision in the constitution to appoint temporary staff in any tier of the government and hence the HoR paneldirective to PSC was unlawful.

He said if the SAGGCdirective was followed, it would pave the way for political parties to hire their own cadres at local levels. According to the petitioner 75,000 applicants had applied for jobs at local levels, and 25,000 more applicants were expected to apply. He argued SAGGCdecision was against the Employees Adjustment Act.

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