Kathmandu, February 17

The agitating Local Bodies Trade Union Joint Coordination Committee ended its five-day-old strike today after a seven-point agreement was reached with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development late last night.

The committee has called off all its protest programmes and local bodies have resumed service delivery that had been paralysed for the past five days. MoFALD Joint Secretary Chakra Bahadur Budha and President of Local Bodies’ Employees Association, a constituent of the agitating committee, Hari Kumar Shrestha, signed the deal on behalf of the respective sides.

LBEA, Nepal National Employees Organisation of Local Bodies, Municipal Employees Association Nepal, VDC Employees Association and Local Bodies Employees Union had formed the committee to launch protest in the local bodies demanding that the government fulfil their demands.

Service-seekers were hit hard after the committee brought activities of all local bodies — district development committees, Kathmandu Metropolitan City, sub-metropolitan cities, municipalities and VDCs — across the nation to a grinding halt to press the government to address their demands through talks.

As per the agreement between MoFALD and the committee, the ministry will request the government to hold civic polls immediately to end dual responsibility of the local bodies’ employees due to the absence of elected office-bearers. MoFALD will provide human resources to fill the posts lying vacant in local bodies, besides retaining temporary employees and those working on contract basis after appointing them to the approved posts.

Both parties have also agreed to form an eight-member task force comprising representatives from both the sides to frame policies for service delivery ensuring compensation and special priority for the existing local bodies’ employees in the federal set-up. The task force will submit its report to the ministry with recommendations within one month. Terms of Reference of the task force have already been framed.