Govt. forms joint secretary-led negotiation committee

KATHMANDU, Oct 12: The government has formed a negotiation committee to negotiate with the local-level employees who have been protesting for the last 12 days. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration formed a four-membered negotiation committee under the coordination of Joint Secretary Kamal Prasad Bhattarai.

The negotiating team includes Joint Secretary Narayan Aryal, Deputy Secretary of Law Tanka Bahadur Mahat and Deputy Secretary of Administration Khilraj Rai. The protesting employees had demanded that until the government officially formed a negotiation team, they would not negotiate. By forming a struggle Committee, the local level employees who are on protest centered in Kathmandu, have stopped all other works done by the local level except for the emergency works.

The protesting employees have put forth a 20-point demand. They have demanded that there should be a Chief Administrative Officer at the local level, equal development at all three levels, inter-provincial transfer, cyclical transfer system without consent, proper management of adjustment employees, calculation of age limit and service period, management of temporary and contract employees, and assurance of service security.

Similarly, the employees have demanded that a tiered system should be implemented at all three levels, and compulsory service entry and in-service training should be included in the law for local-level employees immediately after they enter service.

Likewise, they have demanded that a welfare fund should be made compulsory for the welfare of local employees and that employees of all three levels should have equal opportunities for professional development.