Kathmandu, July 2 :

Transport workers affiliated to the three major parties of the country — CPN-UML, Nepali Congress (NC) and NC (Democratic) today served a 17-point charter of demands to the state minister for minister for Transport and Labour Management Ramesh Lekhak, warning that

they would go on strike if their longstanding demands are not fulfiled.

Addressing a press conference organised by all the three transport workers’ organisations after meeting the minister, the president of the Nepal Transport Workers’ Association Ajay Rai said Lekhak has assured of forming a high-level committee to study all the problems being faced by the transport workers.

Rai said the workers were compelled to air their problems because the government had been ignored their issues for the last three months. He also said that the charge to get and renew the license has been increased by 44 per cent and that the decision should be immediately annulled. “None of our transport workers has received a contract letter and no one’s job is secure,” he said.

The workers’ demands include provision of contract letters to all the transport workers, immediate implementation of the provision of drivers’ identity cards, hike in the salary of workers as per constant price hike, hiked charges for driving licenses should be annulled, an appropriate transport policy be devised and a Transportation Development Board be formed including the representatives of workers. The hurdles in paying insurance should be ended and the transport workers should be given holidays, bonus and gratuity and their terms of service should be upgraded periodically. Workers should be protected in cases of accidents at work. The problem of parking and encroachment on roadsides should be solved. Traffic harassment should be ended, and a driving school should be opened by the government.