By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : ITC’s tobacco factory in Nepal reopened Tuesday after a nearly three-week strike by a trade union that caused the firm a loss of millions of rupees.
Surya Nepal, ITC’s joint venture in which the Indian company holds 59 percent share, had its tobacco factory in Simra village of Bara district in south Nepal padlocked by the newly formed Multinational Company Workers’ Union from Jan 23.
The union that won the last election comprises Maoists and trade unionists loyal to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s ruling Nepali Congress party.
The strikers had tabled demands that included higher pay, house rent and medical facilities and retirement benefits.
After several rounds of negotiations, an agreement was reached Tuesday, which includes a 500 Nepali rupee (about $8) hike in wages and the payment of a lump sum after retirement.
Surya Nepal authorities indicated the strike was over but were not available for immediate comments.
The factory produces over 26 million cigarette sticks a day.
The strike served an especially hard blow since from Wednesday an indefinite closure is looming large over the Terai plains, where the factory is located.
The strike deprived the company of the chance to boost production and stock up products in the capital and its neighbouring districts while the Terai shutdown rages.
The indefinite closure in the Terai from Wednesday has been called by three new parties from the plains that are demanding an autonomous state for plainspeople in the Terai. These parties have warned to disrupt the April 10 election if their demand was not met.
Though Surya Nepal finally reopened, two more major Indian ventures are still reeling under closure.
They are Nepal Lever, Hindustan Lever’s subsidiary, and United Telecom Ltd (UTL), the first private operator in Nepal’s telecom sector.
UTL is a joint venture between three Indian public sector companies, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd as well as a Nepali partner, Nepal Venture Pvt Ltd.
While Nepal Lever’s factory in Basmadi in Makwanpur has been padlocked by local youths demanding jobs on a priority basis and community development projects, UTL’s centres in the valley have been padlocked by temporary workers hired by the contractor from whom UTL was outsourcing its unskilled labour.