Banke Labor and Employment Office has registered 48 complaints of labor exploitation since August 5, 2022.
Chief of Labor and Employment Office Rudranarayan Shah said that there has been an increase in complaints regarding labor exploitation by contractors in the construction sector.
Krishan Budha, the chairperson of Geephant Banke, said that the challenge is the inability to ensure social security and the rights of workers. There is an indifference of the executive to the implementation of the social security plan for the benefit of workers. A lot of employers and workers are not registered.
Workers of factories, hotel businesses, and construction businesses do not have bank accounts and receive their salaries in cash. Companies to pay lower wages than the legal wage use the majority of such systems. Workers complain that the main problem is not getting the said wages on time.
Laborer Indrakumari Tharu said that he gets 600 rupees for working 10 hours daily and 150 rupees for overtime.
Incidents of sexual violence against working women have become public from time to time. The case of rape of a 32-year-old woman who was forced to do domestic work on April 3, 2023, is going on under litigation in the district court.
The Labor Act 2017 and the Labor Regulations 2018 have ensured minimum wages for workers along with expense allowance. Further, it also envisions the contribution of workplaces to gratuity funds and social security funds.
Labor Act 2074 Section 163, Subsection 1 (3), the person or company who hires workers without giving an appointment letter or without an employment contract shall be fined up to 5 lakh rupees at the rate of 10,000 per person and an employment contract with an appointment letter.