Regional Meeting of the District Chambers located in the Eastern Region on the Establishment and Capacity Building of their Employers' Units

 The meeting was jointly organized in Biratnagar on September 12, 2014 by Employers' Council FNCCI and Chamber of Industries, Morang with the support of ILO. The meeting was attended by the representatives of 11 District Chambers of the eastern region. The names of the Chambers are as follows:

1        Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inaruwa

2        Federation of Cottage and Small Scale Industries, Nepal

3        Damak Chamber of Commerce and Industy

4        Jhapa Chamber of Commerce and Industry

5        Ilam Chamber of Commerce and Industry

6        Itahari Chamber of Commerce and Industry

7        Moran Merchant Association, Biratnagar

8        Mechi Chamber of Commerce and Industry

9        Sunsari Chamber of Commerce and Industy

10    Saptari Chamber of Commerce and Industry

11    Terhathum Chamber of Commerce and Industry

In the meeting, the President of CIM Mr. Shiv Shankar Agrawal, in his opening remarks, highlighted the importance of Employers' Units in the district chambers and expressed that the establishment of Employers' Units will make it easy to handle specific issues relating to the labour and other industrial issues. As the new labour law will be applicable to both formal and informal sectors, new types of labour problems and issues are bound to come for which the establishment of employers' units within the district chambers is relevant. He expressed his happiness over the role that the chamber is entrusted to play for the strengthening of the district chambers in the eastern region.

Mr. Yagyaman Shakya, Deputy Director of FNCCI-EC spoke on the objective of the meeting. He briefed the participants about the workshop on the strengthening and capacity building of the Employers Units of the district chambers held in Kathmandu and the decisions made in that workshop. One of the decisions was to hold meetings in the five regions of Nepal. He stressed on the need of the Employers' Units in the district chambers so that these units could be transformed into specialized units to handle industrial relations issues including labour. He opined that there is a great need for the expansion of the service of the Employers' Council of the FNCCI to more district chambers through these units. As the new Labour Act has provisions to bring formal and informal sectors within its scope of application, all the district chambers must be equipped to handle various types of labour issues which may arise in the informal sector also. He also said that these units will make it easy for the Employers' Council to communicate, coordinate and collaborate with the district chambers effectively.

After his presentation, the President of CIM facilitated the discussion among the participants on the topic. All the representatives spoke on the proposal to establish Employers' Units in the participating district chambers. Sunsari Chamber of Commerce and Industry informed that it has already established EU in its chamber. Other chambers welcomed the initiative and expressed their commitment to support it. The chambers requested for two months time to work on the establishment of the units in their respective chambers. Some chambers inquired about the procedure to create employers' unit within their chambers and the specific functions the units should be responsible for. The Deputy Director of FNCCI-EC explained the process of establishment of Employers' Units to the participants. The chambers also discussed briefly about the issues that come up in their districts.

It was also agreed that the FNCCI –EC will send a formal letter requesting the participating chambers to establish Employers' Units and send the names of the officer bearers and focal persons of the district chambers responsible for their units. This was well supported by the participants.

The Executive Secretary of the Chamber, Mr. Som Nath Adhikari also explained the structure of the Employers' Council of the chamber. The Council is headed by the third vice president of the chamber. It is responsible for all kinds of industrial and labour issues/disputes referred to the chamber and representations.

Finally the first Vice President of the Chamber of Industry, Morang, Mr. Mukesh Upadhaya concluded the program with vote of thanks. He thanked all the participants, FNCCI-EC and ILO for supporting this meeting. He said that the issues that come up in the units are not so simple. Sometimes they are very serious and challenging. He gave the examples of the Employers' Council of the Chamber and his experience. He was optimistic about the initiative of FNCCI-EC to promote the creation of employers' units in the district chambers and their positive roles in establishing sound industrial relations in Nepal.