1.

Industrial relations management(4)

Grievance handling, principles and practice, trade unions and employee management, attitude
towards trade unions, unfair labour practices, collective bargaining, prevailing labor laws in
Nepal.

Grievance handling, Principles and practice,

Grievances are concerns, problems or complaints raised by a member of staff. They may arise
over issues such as terms and conditions of employment, health and safety, relations with
colleagues or management, organisational change or discrimination.

Grievances are best dealt with at an early stage, informally, with the immediate line manager.
This gives everyone involved a chance to resolve matters effectively before they escalate.
However, it is not always possible to resolve matters on an informal basis, and this is when it
becomes important to have a formal procedure for handling grievances. This formal procedure
should always be the last resort when other attempts have failed, and not the first option.

Any formal grievance procedure should, as a first step, require the employee in question to
submit a letter to their employer setting out the details of the grievance. They should then be
invited to a meeting to discuss the issue, and be entitled to appeal the employer's decision.

Trade unions and employee management,

Trade unions

A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English) is an organization of workers
that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade
union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and
negotiates labor contracts (collective bargaining) with employers. This may include the
negotiation of wages, work rules, complaint procedures, rules governing hiring, firing and
promotion of workers, benefits, workplace safety and policies. The agreements negotiated by the
union leaders are binding on the rank and file members and the employer and in some cases on
other non-member workers.

Trade unions of Nepal

 The trade union wing of the party is named the All Nepal Trade Union Federation
(Revolutionary). The students' wing of the CPN (M) is known as All Nepal National Free
Students Union (Revolutionary).
 Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) was established in 1947. With the overthrow of
Panchayat polity in 1990 following popular movement for the restoration of democracy,
freedom of expression and organization became a part of national life. Nepal Trade
 Union Congress also revived its organization in 1990 and now works closely to ruling
Nepali Congress party in general and current prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala in
particular.
 Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions (DECONT) is established on May
1, 1997 after it broke away from NTUC. It is not affiliated to Nepali Congress party but
works closely with former Prime ministers Krishna Prasad Bhattarai- Sher Bahadur
Deuba group in particular. This division extends to the grassroots level on factional lines
of the political party.
 General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) was established in July 20,
1989 with four founder federations: Nepal Independent Workers Union (NIWU),
Independent Transport Workers’ Association of Nepal (ITWAN), Nepal Independent
Workers’ Union (NIHWU) and Trekking Workers’ Association of Nepal (TWAN). It is
affiliated to Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist-Leninist party (CPN-UML). A
small faction splinted from GEFONT formed Independent Confederation of Nepalese
Trade Unions (ICONT) on March 14, 1998. ICONT is affiliated to CPN Marxist-Leninist
party (CPN-ML).

Attitude towards trade unions,

There is no survey done yet in Nepal; however the survey done elsewhere have shown it is
declining. In 1985 the union’s members were around 25% of the workers. The percentage of
U.S. workers belonging to a union decreased from 13.3% in 2002 to 12.0% in 2006. In 2007 the
BLS reported a slight increase to 12.1%. Most writers agree that the reasons can be grouped into
the following five categories: (1) increased individualism of workers and their attitude toward
unions, (2) legal support for unions and existence of right-to-work laws, (3) macroeconomic
factors, (4) employer opposition initiatives, and (5) labor unions’ opposition to representation
elections.

Unfair labor practices,

Unfair labor practices mean treating the laborers discriminately and avoiding them from being
unionized or threatening employees who wish to organize a labor union, discriminating against
employees who participate in the activities of a labor union, or discriminating against an
employee for filing charges. Recent ‘Bhagbana’ practice is the strong evidence of unfair
practice.

Collective bargaining,

Collective bargaining is a type of negotiation used by employees to work with their employers.
During a collective bargaining period, workers' representatives approach the employer and
attempt to negotiate a contract, which both sides can agree with. Typical issues covered in a
labor contract are hours, wages, benefits, working conditions, and the rules of the workplace.
Once both sides have reached a contract that they find agreeable, it is signed and kept in place
for a set period, most commonly three years. The final contract is called a collective bargaining
agreement, to reflect the fact that it is the result of a collective bargaining effort.

The roots of collective bargaining lie in the late nineteenth century, when workers began to
agitate for more rights in their places of employment. Many skilled trades started using their
skills as bargaining tools to force their employers to meet their workplace needs. Other workers
relied on sheer numbers, creating general strikes to protest poor working conditions. Several
labor pioneers started to establish a collective bargaining system so that labor negotiations could
run more smoothly.

Typically, the employees are represented by a union. Collective bargaining actually begins with
joining a union, agreeing to abide by the rules of the union, and electing union representatives. In
general, experienced people from the union will assist the employees with putting together a
draft of a contract, and will help them present their desires to the company. Numerous meetings
between representatives of employer and employees will be held until the two can agree on a
contract.

As the contract is being negotiated, general employees also have input on it, through their union
officers. Thus, the agreement reflects the combined desires of all the employees, along with
limitations that the employer wishes to see put in place. The result is a powerful document which
usually reflects cooperative effort. In some cases, however, the union or the employer may resort
to antagonistic tactics such as striking or creating a lockout, in order to push the agreement
through.

For workers, collective bargaining is an excellent tool. Many workplaces benefit from
unionization, which allows workers to speak together as a body to assert their rights. Employers
also benefit from collective bargaining agreements, which set out clear expectations for both
sides. The experience of collective bargaining can also be a learning experience for both sides of
the discussion, as it encourages employers and employees alike to consider each other's
positions.

Prevailing labor laws in Nepal.

Process of Union Formation

There are three tiers of Union. At enterprise level, formation of union requires 25 percent of the
total members and a minimum of 10 persons. Five thousands members from similar type of
enterprise can enter into contract and can form a union. Those outside enterprises, such as trade,
commerce, self-employment or service sector can also form a union if they have 500 members
and enter into agreement for this purpose. In informal and agriculture sectors 5000 members
from 20 districts (not less than 100 person from each district) are required to form a union. Fifty-
enterprise level union can form a National Level Union. While 10 national level unions out of
which 6 should be from organized sector can form Trade Union Federation.

Union Activities

These programs mainly include, education (both formal and informal), training (both training of
trainees and trainers), occupational health and safety programmes (fixed and mobile),
campaigning for the unionisation of informal sectors, campaigning against the use of child labour
and some regular and occasional publication. Trade unions have achieved a lot, at least, to impart
the knowledge about trade union rights and duties to the workers. Consequently, the unionization
process is on rise in the organised sector. They are also strongly lobbying for the social security
bills, which have already been tabled in the parliament. And, recently amended Labour Act has
opened up the scope of union formation even in the unorganised sector which is also the outcome
of unified efforts of the unions. All the major trade union federations (GEFONT, DECONT and
NTUC) are concentrating their efforts to form union in the agriculture sector.

Nepal & Core Labour Standards

Nepal became the member of International Labor Organization in 1966. Until now, it has ratified
the following seven conventions:

 Discrimination ( Employment and Occupation) convention No. 111

 Equal Remuneration Convention no. 100
 Minimum wage Fixation Convention No. 131
 Weekly Rest convention No. 14
 Tripartite Consultation Convention No. 144
 Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention No. 98 and,
 Minimum Age Convention 138.
Prevailing formal grievance handling laws in Nepal.

1. Procedures for making individual claims or complaints

Step Individual mode Group mode

Informal Discussion with supervisors Discussion with supervisors

Formal Application by individual Application by Collective
bargaining 51% or more workers
signed
1 General manager(within 15 days to be General manager(within 21 days
settled) to be settled)
2 Labor office to mediate(7 days time to Labor office to mediate(15 days
settle) time to settle)
3 Chief labor office decides (7 days time to Arbitrator (15 days)
settle)
4 Appeal with the labor court within 35 Appeal with the labor court
days within 35 days