KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 10

Protest of employees working at the local level continue to increase in the past few days as hundreds of employees joined the demonstration at Maitighar Mandala today.

The agitating employees have demanded amendment of the Federal Civil Service Bill, which is being prepared to be passed by the Council of Ministers and registered in the House of Representatives.

Government employees have joined the protest in Kathmandu from across the country as called by the Central Struggle Committee. The staff have also halted all work inside the local bodies except for emergency work by calling a nationwide pen down. Those who have not joined the protest have also not continued with their regular work in the local governments across the country.

Employees who could not come to Kathmandu have organised protest programme at the local level where they work. The protesters said that they would continue their pen down until the federal government addresses their demands.

The protesters, during today's programme shouted slogans and displayed placards saying, 'until when will the government sleep', 'allow trans-provincial transfer of employees', 'who will serve us justice', 'where is government', 'properly manage employees adjusted from civil service', among others. Ram Prasad Neupane, joint co-ordinator of the protest programme, talking to media,said that since the government had turned deaf ears to their demands they were forced to join the protest.

'We will continue our pen down and obstruct work at the local level and continue our protest here until our demands are met,' he said.

The Federal Civil Service Bill has proposed that the chief administrative officer of local government will be employed by provincial government and chief secretary of provincial government will be employed by the federal government. Currently, the chief administrative officer of local government are working under federal government.

The employees have demanded that government should promulgate a Unified Civil Service Act instead of the Federal Civil Service Act so that all issues of employees in the three tiers of government could are addressed justifiably.

They have also demanded that the position of the chief administrative officer of the local level should be from the local service only and incorporate local employees as civil service employees.

Similarly, they have asked that the chances of professional upgradation and promotions be equal among employees of all three levels of governments, and compulsory arrangements of social welfare schemes for the employees of local governments.

The local employees have also demanded the right to open employee trade union, access to health services like those of civil servants, and proper management of temporary and contracted employees in schools.

A version of this article appears in the print on October 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times