Surkhet: Employees of local governments under the Karnali province have called off their protest. The protest has come to a halt after a 13-point agreement was reached between the government-formed talks team and agitating employees.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the employees had been arguing that the Local Service Formation and Operation Act was discriminatory, leading to over two weeks of agitation by employees of 79 local governments, which disrupted their work. In response, the province government formed a talk and facilitation committee on Monday under the leadership of Secretary (Law) of the Office of Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Birendra Bahadur KC.
The consensus was reached through a tripartite dialogue and discussion among the committee, national level trade unions active in Surkhet, and the local service employees network Karnali province committee. The government had previously registered a Bill to Amend the Local Service (Formation and Operation) Act, 2081 at the Province Assembly on May 16.
The agitation was called off after an agreement was reached to amend the clauses and sub-clauses of the bill that directly affected the career development of employees working in local level service, as stated by Bikram Shahi, the coordinator of the Local Service Employees Network Karnali Province.