• There are about 35,000 employees, including about 7,000 temporary staff, in local bodies

Kathmandu, February 14 Slighted by the government apathy, employees of local bodies have warned of intensifying their ongoing protest programmes. They have also threatened to halt emergency services like garbage collection and deployment of fire brigades if the government failed to fulfil their ‘rightful demands’. There are about 35,000 employees, including about 7,000 temporary staffers, in local bodies across the country. “We will be compelled to step up our protest programmes if the government continues to ignore our demands,” said Chairperson of Nepal Municipal Employees Association, Him Prasad Poudel. He said the agitating employees would not hesitate to obstruct emergency services to pile pressure on the government to address their demands According to Poudel, the government has neither invited the agitating employees nor formed any committee to resolve their issues through dialogue. Agitating local body employees have been staging a series of protest programmes since the last several days against the proposed Local Bodies Service Bill, which they said had discriminatory provisions and would displace thousands of employees. They have demanded that the government fulfil their six-point demand, including a new Act allowing more than 6,000 temporary staffers to continue their service. Due to the protest of the employees, all services the district development committees, municipalities and VDCs have come to grinding halt, leaving thousands of service-seekers in the lurch across the country since Sunday. Five trade unions affiliated to major political parties have extended their support to the ongoing agitation of the local body employees. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development said that it had directed all local development officers and chief executives of the local bodies to create an environment for uninterrupted delivery of public service by holding talks with the agitating employees.