Kathmandu, March 11:

All Nepal National Transport Labours Association (ANNTLA) today padlocked the office of the Safa Tempo Association.

Shiva Prasad Chaulagain, secretary of the ANNTLA said they were forced to padlock the office as tempo entrepreneurs did not pay heed to the demands they had forwarded one and a half month ago.

“Tempo entrepreneurs rejected several of our requests for talks to settle several issues and now we are planning to launch stronger protest programme in future,” he said.

The tempo drivers parked their vehicles at the open-air theatre (Khula Manch) all day long from 9 am this morning as a protest. “We are always ready for talks but the owners don’t want to invite us for a negotiation,” he said. A 24-point demand forwarded by the tempo drivers includes providing them with appointment letters, provision of welfare fund, weekly day off, minimum salary scale of Rs 5,000, insurance of the drivers, maternal leave for woman drivers, among others.