Kathmandu: Leaders of various parties have suggested that it is not appropriate to have party-based trade unions in the civil service at the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee meeting under the House of Representatives.

During a discussion with the chief whips and whips of various parties regarding the bill to make provisions regarding the formation, operation and conditions of service of the federal civil service at the State Affairs and Good Governance Committee meeting under the House of Representatives, Nepali Congress Chief Whip Shyam Kumar Ghimire has suggested that trade unions should not be kept in a party-based manner.

He said that the party is of the opinion that trade unions should not be kept in a party-based manner as Nepali law states that government employees should not take institutional membership of any party. He also said that only one official trade union should be kept and employees above the officer level should not be involved. He suggested that a provision should be made that the Constitutional Commission should not have more than 50 percent former employees as it looks like a club for former employees.

In the meeting, UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartaula said that there should be a single trade union in the civil service instead of different trade unions of different parties. He said that a discussion should be held on the issue of not having employees above the officer level in the same trade union.

Similarly, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Whip Bina Lama said that trade unions should be abolished in the bureaucracy to allow the bureaucracy to work. She said that there is a party-based recruitment center in the bureaucracy in the name of trade unions and that a law should be made to prohibit civil servants from joining political parties and not engaging in politics.

In the meeting, the chief whips of the major parties expressed their party-based commitment to moving the bills forward on time. They suggested that everyone should be serious as there is a problem of the bill not becoming a law on time when it is in the committee for a long time.