Government Dissolves National Civil Service and Health Employee Unions

Kathmandu. The Department of Labour and Professional Safety, under the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, has issued a public notice dissolving all national-level civil service and health service employee trade unions in Nepal. The department made this decision on Wednesday based on a newly issued ordinance by the government. This dissolution applies to all national-level trade unions registered and active under the Civil Service Act, 2049 (Second Amendment, 2064) and the Nepal Health Service Act, 2053 (Fourth Amendment, 2070). The decision to dissolve these unions was made based on the provisions of Ordinance No. 7 of Sambat 2083, 'An Ordinance to Amend Some Nepal Laws,' as informed by the department's spokesperson, Engineer Maninath Gope. With this decision, the existence of major unions, registered under Sub-section (2) of Section 53 of the Civil Service Act and active in employee politics for a long time, has ended. The national-level civil service organizations dissolved include Nepal Civil Service Organization (Registration No. 214), Nepal Civil Service Union (Registration No. 215), Nepal National Civil Service Organization (Registration No. 221), Nepal Madhesi Civil Service Forum (Registration No. 231), Nepal Health Workers Association (Registration No. 272), Madhesi Health Workers Forum Nepal (Registration No. 284), United Government Employees Organization, Nepal (Registration No. 523), and Independent Public Servants Employees Organization, Nepal (Registration No. 570). Similarly, national-level trade unions active in the health sector, registered under Section 92A (1) of the Nepal Health Service Act, 2053, have also been dissolved. The health worker unions dissolved include Nepal Health Workers Union (Registration No. 360), Health Workers Union Nepal (Registration No. 361), National Health Workers Association, Nepal (Registration No. 364), and National Progressive Health Workers Organization (Registration No. 552). The government's decision to dissolve the trade unions, which are affiliated with major political parties and have held strong influence in employee administration for years, has created a new stir in administrative and political circles. Some view this move as an attempt to curb unnecessary political interference in the bureaucracy, while others have begun protesting, calling it an attack on the constitutional rights of employees.