Nepal Satellite sacks engineers for staging protest
REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, May 15: Private operator Nepal Satellite Telecom (NST) has sacked all the engineers employed at its corporate office in Kathmandu after its workers, including engineers, launched a protest, demanding that the management allow them register trade union.
The workers were also demanding that the management give them appointment letter. They had been staging protest for the past two weeks.
But instead of initiating talks with them, the management on Monday sacked 48 employees of administration and marketing departments. And on Tuesday, it compelled 20 engineers to ´resign´.
The company had hired a total of 40 engineers. Twenty of them were working in the company´s headquarters in Dang.
NST is promoted by Muktishree Group of Companies. Teliasonera holds 50 percent stake in the company. Bangladesh´s Sheba Telecom (2 percent) and Pakistan Mobile Communications (3 percent) are the other promoters of NST.
“On Tuesday the management forcefully handed over retirement letters to all the engineers working in Kathmandu,” said one of the engineers sacked on the day, requesting anonymity. He said the management´s act goes against existing labor laws. "It is a matter of shame for the company having majority of foreign investment to act in such a rash manner," he stated.
The sacked employees are shocked by the management´s decision as their protest was not hampering day to day operations of the operator. They had put forth their demands by having over a letter to the management.
Officials of the management could not be contacted for comment despite repeated efforts.
NST, a rural telecom operator, has been operating in the mid-western region since last five years and providing telecom services under the Hello Nepal brand.
Meanwhile, Union of Telecom Workers has condemned the action. Issuing a press statement, the Union has said NST´s decision makes mockery of country´s Labor Act and Telecommunication Act.
“Opening trade union and seeking appointment letter are among the basic rights of workers rights. The management should have respected such basic demand of the workers,” the release states.
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Nepal Satellite Sacks Engineers For Staging Protest
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