Kathmandu, September 29

The Parliament today endorsed the much-awaited Industrial Enterprise Bill enforcing the provision of ‘No Work, No Pay’ in the industrial sector of the country. The bill will be imposed as law after it receives the President’s stamp.

Enforcement of the bill means that industry labourers will be paid only for their work time. Discouraging any act of protest and strike in industries, the bill says that labourers will not be paid for the time they are involved in activities that hamper regular production by the concerned business.

The Industrial Enterprise Bill, however, has mentioned that if labourers are unable to work due to some genuine reasons, a tripartite meeting of the industry owner, labourers and government shall settle the issue.

The bill also has a provision of ‘one-window service’ to facilitate trade and industries. Under this system, traders and industry operators can complete all document-related works through a single location, thereby ending the hassle of moving to a number of government offices to complete a single procedure.

Similarly, aiming to encourage investors and industrialists, the bill has stated that none of the private industries will be nationalised by the government.

The bill has also provisioned to provide free registration service to small and cottage industries.

Giving subsidy in terms of tax to industries consuming local resources and industries promoting export, the bill has mentioned that these subsidies and facilities given to investors and industries will not be reduced at any cost, and can only be increased.

Likewise, the bill, for the first time, has mentioned corporate social responsibility (CSR) of industries. As per a provision in the bill, industries with annual turnover of Rs 150 million or more will have to separate one per cent of its profit for CSR activities.

In another first, the bill has given validity to digital signatures in the government works.

“Endorsement of Industrial Enterprise Bill will prove to be a milestone to industrialise the country and bring in more investment,” Industry Minister Nabindra Raj Joshi said, adding that the country’s industrial sector will take a major turn following its implementation. “The bill was endorsed by a full House which also shows growing political commitment towards the development of country’s industrial sector and national economy.”