KATHMANDU: Employees of the local bodies today announced indefinite closure of all the local bodies in the country beginning December 16 should the government continue to neglect their demands.

The Union has served a December-15 deadline to the government to respond to their plea. “If the government failed to heed to our demand seriously by that day, we will shut down all the local bodies across the nation from the following day - December 16.

“We’ll shut down 75 District Development Committees, 3,915 Village Development Committees and 58 municipalities throughout the country should our

repeated appeals go ashtray,” said Hari Kumar Shrestha, president, Local Body Employees’ Union Nepal (LBEUN).

He also said that the protest would be decisive.

About 35,000 staffers including 7,000 temporary staffs are employed in

the local bodies, according to LBEUN.

Their demands range from a provision for facilities, including transfer of the civil servants as per the Civil Service Act and managing the local bodies which are in shambles,” he said.

Local bodies are key government offices from where people could experience the existence of the government through its service delivery and development activities.

The local bodies primarily deal with birth and death registration and carry out recommendations and local development activities as per the plan and the budget.

But the local bodies across the nation have

been running without elected representatives for last eight years with severe consequences for the local residents.

One of their demands includes a provision for ‘facilities’ on par with the civil servants. The agitating employees have also been demanding permanent contract for those temporary staff serving since 2007.

“We also want a separate Local Service Act, similar to that of the Civil Service Act,” said Shrestha.

Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the Ministry of Local Development, said a draft of the amended regulation addressing their demands was tabled in the cabinet about three months ago. However, all the staffs did not meet the national standards required for promotion, thus, they couldn’t be permanently appointed, under pressure, he added.

Shrestha further admitted that some of the staffs were appointed under political recommendation. “We also want to be regulated by the Public Service Commission,” he added.