E-Malt.com News article: Nepal & India: Indian External Affairs Minister defending Unites Breweries Nepal subsidiary from a strike

United Breweries Nepal Pvt Ltd operating in an industrial corridor in central Nepal remained unaffected by an indefinite strike called by the ruling Maoist-backed trade union, thanks to a recent visit of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the country, Thaindian News communicated on November, 28.

The strike shut down 44 other industries in the Hetauda industrial corridor, it is reported.

Mukherjee, who visited Nepal earlier this week, asked both Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav to ensure the protection of Indian investment in that country. Breweries Nepal and Nepal Lever, India’s consumer goods giant Hindustan Lever’s 14-year-old subsidiary, were spared from the strike, officials said.

The Maoist trade union has called for the strike to enforce the hike in minimum wages announced by the Maoist-headed labour ministry in September, but yet to be backed by labour laws. Many Nepali companies are opposed to the new wages, saying that would cause the closure of smaller industries.

United Breweries Nepal is yet to take a decision and the salary for the Nepali month of Kartik (mid-Oct to mid-Nov) is yet to be paid pending the final decision.


28 November, 2008