Kathmandu, January 9

The Ministry of General Administration has requested the Ministry of Labour and Employment to take initiatives to hold election of single authoritative trade union in civil service.

Binod Ghimire, press coordinator of Minister for General Administration Rekha Sharma, said Sharma had written to MoLE, urging the latter to hold the election by mid-April.

Earlier, she had held discussions with the leaders of trade unions about a creating single authoritative trade union to build and raise their collective voices while putting an end to the practice of mixing politics with civil service.

“Minister Sharma corresponded with MoLE to make necessary preparation to hold election of single authoritative trade union following a constructive discussion with various trade unions. The election is expected to consolidate multiple trade unions under a single umbrella of employees,” informed Ghimire.

The idea of single authoritative trade union aims to unite all civil servants in order to make service delivery more effective and enhance their shared concerns.

The Supreme Court had issued an interim order to the government to limit the involvement of multiple trade unions in political activities by developing a culture of collective bargaining in April last year.

The apex court’s ruling was in response to a writ petition filed by an advocate who demanded that all trade unions affiliated to various political parties be declared illegal and a single authoritative trade union be formed.