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Business sector hails strike withdrawal
KATHMANDU, MAY 08 -
The business community on Saturday welcomed the UCPN (Maoist) withdrawal of the nationwide indefinite general strike.
On Friday evening, faced with mounting presure from different business organization, civil society, professionals and people from various walks of life the main opposition party decided to call off the strike after six consecutive days.
Issuing a press statement, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) — the umbrella organisation of the private sector — said that the decision to withdraw the indefinite general strike was a positive move and that it had created an environment for forging consensus among the political parties.
“Now that the strike has been called off, life has returned to normal,” said Surendra Bir Malakar, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce. He said the ruling parties also should be flexible to form a national consensus government.
The Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) said that it welcomed the strike withdrawal decision of the Maoists. The CNI urged the political parties to end the ongoing political deadlock through cooperation and understanding and begin the process of addressing all issues in a sustainable manner.
“Due to deteriorating environment, capital flight and low investment, the country is bearing the brunt of trade deficit, balance of payment deficit, labour disputes, liquidity crunch
and prolonged load-shedding. Al this has disheartened the entire business sector,” the CNI statement read.
Meanwhile, Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) - the umbrella organisation of the hotel sector in Nepal — said the strike withdrawal was a welcome move. In a statement, the HAN said that the hotel industry had been suffering intensely due to rapid cancellation of bookings as well as tourists cutting short their stay and leaving Nepal.
It said the recent commitment made by 19 political parties not to hinder the upcoming Nepal Tourism Year 2011 had provided respite to the tourism sector and that these parties should abide by their commitment.
The Lalitpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry also welcomed the strike withdrawal decision of the Maoist party and urged it to take the peace process to its logical conclusion.
Likewise the Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI) which said that the industrial sector has had to suffer huge losses due to frequent strikes called by different parties.
“We welcome the move of the Maoists to withdraw the strike and urge them to provide an environment for forming a national unity government,” said FNCSI in a statement.
Posted on: 2010-05-09 08:54
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