Ajay Kumar Rai, General Secretary of the Nepal Trade Union Congress and a board member of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), has stated that workers in Nepal have been among the hardest hit by devastating natural disasters and government policies.
Representing Nepal at a meeting of the International Transport Workers’ Federation held in Mexico, Rai presented his views on the situation of trade unions in Nepal and the government’s decision to abolish unions in the formal sector. The ITF is a global organization representing 19.7 million transport workers worldwide.
During the meeting, Rai, who also serves as an ITF board member, informed the international community that workers had suffered the most from the floods in Bhotekoshi and Budhigandaki. He stated that hundreds of workers had lost their livelihoods and homes and had been forced into unemployment.
On the occasion, a documentary prepared by Nepal’s transport workers’ unions was also screened, highlighting the impact of the Bhotekoshi floods on workers.
Rai further informed the meeting that, following the Gen Z movement, the elected government led by Balendra Shah had included provisions restricting trade unions in its 100-point action plan. He stated that unions in the health and civil service sectors had been abolished and that the government had taken control of union buildings.
He also explained that trade union representatives had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the government’s actions, but hearings in the pending case had been repeatedly postponed. Furthermore, active trade unionists in the civil service had been transferred to remote areas, while unions in the public sector had also been left in a state of fear and uncertainty.
Emphasizing the need for international solidarity with Nepali trade unionists and workers suffering from natural disasters and government policies, Rai appealed for support from the global community.
Following Rai’s address, ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton reaffirmed the federation’s continued solidarity with the struggle to protect trade union rights. Cotton had previously raised his voice in support of Nepali workers at a public event in Nepal. He had also met President Ram Chandra Paudel and urged him to stand up for workers’ rights.
The meeting of the ITF’s World Executive Committee was also addressed by Mexico’s Transport Minister Héctor Ulises García Nieto, Labour Minister Marath Baruch, and Jeremy Corbyn, a senior British politician and former Labour Party leader who served as Leader of the Opposition in the British Parliament.
Established in 1896, the International Transport Workers’ Federation brings together around 700 unions representing workers across various sectors worldwide, including aviation, road transport, railways, shipping, ports, tourism, inland dry ports, and platform-based work.
The federation, which is headquartered in London, has Rai leading its representation from Nepal.
