Kavre, January 21:

Activists of the Maoist-affiliated Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers’ Association (NHRWA), Kavre, have padlocked nine hotels and resorts in Dhulikhel for an indefinite period.

The activists, accusing the management of hotels of not providing basic facilities to workers, called 200 hotel workers out of their offices today and padlocked the nine hotels. “The hotels and resorts were padlocked after the proprietors did not meet our demands,” chairperson of the NHRWA (Kavre), Jaya Aryal, said. According to Aryal, the NHRWA had submitted the six-point demand to the hotels 15 days ago.

The NHRWA (Kavre) has been demanding, among other things, permanent appointment for those workers who have worked for over eight months and fixing of minimum salary and allowances.

Chairperson Aryal, secretary Harihar Badal and regional member Khem Basnet directed representatives of the NHRWA (Kavre) to padlock the hotels and resorts at 9 am today. The representatives padlocked Dhulikhel Lodge Resort, Mirabal Resort, Araniko Hotel, Himalayan Horizon, High View Resort, Mount View Resort, Rabin Sunrise, Snow View Hotel and Himalayan Shangri-la. Maoist-affiliated hotel workers warned they would break legs of those workers who refuse to come out of hotels and resorts, a hotel worker charged. The NHRWA has formed its unit committees in 13 hotels and resorts in Dhulikhel. Maoist workers’ leaders and hotel proprietors had held dialogue till late in the night yesterday, but they failed to find a way out of the deadlock. First vice-president of the Hotel Association (Dhulikhel) and manager of Mirabal Resort Pawan Karna said that except for demand on fixing of minimum salary and allowances, hotel proprietors had agreed to meet all other demands of the employees during the talks held last night.