Nepal’s Labor Market Faces Serious Challenges: GEFONT President

GEFONT President Binod Shrestha has said that Nepal’s labor market continues to face serious challenges. 

Speaking at a press conference in Kathmandu on the eve of International Workers’ Day, he highlighted that workers are often discouraged rather than motivated. 
The event was organized to release a detailed report on the current state of the labor market in Nepal. The report is based on labor audits conducted at 327 workplaces across various sectors including industries, garment, jute, textile, hotels, trekking, travel, printing press, cooperatives, private hospitals, private schools, construction and labor supply companies.

According to the report, the number of workers in regular employment has dropped compared to the previous year. In the year 2080 BS (mid-April, 2022 to mid-April, 2023), 59.72% of workers had regular jobs, but this figure declined to 53.35% in 2081 BS (mid-April, 2023 to mid-April, 2024). Other types of employment in 2080 BS included 6.19% in functional jobs, 5.52% in time-based jobs, 1.73% in part-time jobs, and 2.84% in other categories. In 2081 BS, the numbers slightly changed to 5.51% in functional jobs, 8.58% in time-based jobs, 1.48% in part-time jobs and 1.75% in other forms. Shrestha noted that while ideally all workers should have regular employment, the majority are still working in informal sectors.

The report also shows that a significant number of workplaces are not complying with basic labor rights. In 2080 BS, 21.7% of workplaces did not provide the minimum wage, 8.9% did not offer festival allowances, 21.7% did not give grade-based salary increases and 28% failed to pay salaries on a monthly basis. The situation worsened in 2081 BS, with 29% of workplaces not providing minimum wages, 21.3% skipping festival allowances, 36.9% not giving grade-based raises, and 29.9% failing to pay salaries on time. Shrestha also announced that GEFONT will release its new action plan on International Workers’ Day (May 1).