NEPAL

Threatening Union Leaders and
Refusing to Pay Minimum Wage: G4S in Nepal

The General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (Gefont) has reported a wide range of violations of basic standards for G4S workers in Nepal, as well as violations of workers’ right to organise.

Gefont reports that G4S violates Nepal’s minimum wage and overtime pay requirements. Not only are workers’ base salaries below the minimum wage, but, according to union reports, security officers who work seven days a week, twelve hours a day, do not receive the overtime pay that they are legally entitled to. G4S also does not provide holiday bonuses and other bonuses that most Nepali employers provide. The company does not make arrangements for security officers posted at private homes to have access to toilets or water during their twelve-hour shifts.

It also makes payments to the provident fund, on a semi-annual basis, rather than a monthly basis, so workers who stop working any time within a six-month period can be deprived of several months of contributions to the fund.

G4S’s internal management systems, or lack thereof, disadvantage workers and provide ample opportunities to harass union members. The company has few rules, and often provides little advance notice, when workers are to be posted to new, difficult or remotely located posts, including posts in other countries. Similarly, there is a lack of clear, transparent rules regarding promotion. Remote or difficult postings are used to harass union members, and the lack of clear promotion guidelines allows management to show favouritism and to penalise workers who join the union.

G4S has made no secret of its opposition to unionisation in Nepal. Gefont reports that G4S told Nepalese workers that G4S was not union anywhere in the world, and would never accept a union in Nepal. According to the union, G4S told workers that the company would leave Nepal if the workers unionised. The company lobbied the government to deny security officers their right to organise. Union leaders were harassed and threatened with firing, transfers, and physical violence. Two union leaders were fired.

Despite this opposition, a majority of workers chose to join Gefont, and G4S finally recognised the union in August 2006. The company agreed to meet basic legal requirements for minimum wage and an overtime pay rate of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate. G4S has also reinstated and provided back pay to the union president and other workers who were fired during the union registration process. Currently, 3000 G4S workers are members of the union.