Kathmandu, August.14 Strikes continued to paralyse public enterprises Monday despite an
appeal by a trade union affiliated with the ruling Nepali Congress party Sunday to negotiate with
the government to find an amicable settlement over demands forperks and pay increases
commensurate with salary increases for civil servants.
Communist unions have not issued similar appeals indicating a split in the strike.
The Nepal Trade Union Congress issued the appeal after work in public enterprises came to a
virtual halt last week in phased escalation of strikes that began in June when government
announced huge pay hikes for its employees.
Unions loyal to the government and the opposition jointly launched their protests in June
demanding commensurate pay increases.
Customers of major banks including the Nepal Bank Ltd., Nepal’s oldest, queued up for hours
at the headquarters Monday vainly to conduct business.
The exact losses to enterprises have not been computed so far.The Nepal Telecommunications Corporation Monday asked its employees to end their strike and resume work.
” A committee will consider demands for perks for employees if it can be met by its resources,”
an announcement said.
The dispute started after the government increased salaries for public enterprise employees
commensurate with civil servants while withdrawing previous perks.There is no end in sight to the strike that has crippled the economy.