NTUC observes International Youth Day 2024

On 12th August 2024, Kathmandu, the Nepal Trade Union Congress Youth Committee marked the International Youth Day, as sign of solidarity for prospect and progress for the youth internationally.

A short morning rally with banners and flags started from Maitighar Mandala and ended in New Baneshwor,w here it was followed by a street dialogue.  The slogan of this year's Youth Day was "From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development".  In the rally, NTUC high officials attending included the Senior Vice President, Vice Presidents, General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary, trade union leaders from different sectors and fields, with youth and women. 

The street dialogue, chaired by Dipendra Sunar, President of the NTUC National Youth Committee, had as its chief guest Nepali Congress Party Deputy General Secretary Jeevan Pariyar and youth leader and Member of Parliament. He stated: “We are very conscious about youth issues. Recently, we are very engaged in amendment of the bill related Electronic Transactions Act 2063 based on the changing context of Nepal to ensure the reliability and security of electronic transactions including the control of unauthorized use of electronic records or alteration in such records through illegal manner". Pariyar also promised to share youth issues in the upcoming Central Committee meeting of the Nepali Congress Party. 

President of Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) and currently of JTUCC Yogendra Kumar Kunwar said “Nepal has been facing different challenges, with youth migration one of them. We should pay our more attention to control it by creating decent job in the country”. Solidarity Centre Country Director Luna Ranjit expressed her solidarity and joy to be part of the youth program of Young NTUC- Nepal.  President of Nepal Student Union, Dujang Sherpa said: “We are persistently lobbying for more than fifty percent youth representation in the policy making and other state structure.” He also ensured that this will be happening soon here. Various issues were raised by the participants like youth migration, the youth welfare fund and its implementation, skills and youth employment, which the guests answered.

From toiling the soil to leading the union - CFTUI, India

Marisa Naresh, 38 years, born in the village of RAJAM in Andhra Pradesh: "My family survived on a mere 3 acres of agricultural land, toiling under the sun. We were laborers, our livelihood tied to the earth.

As a young man, I looked up to Mr. N. Satyanarayana—the towering figure behind the District Agricultural Union. At 17, I stepped into the world of union activities. Our affiliation with CFTUI in 2007 opened doors. Thematic knowledge, organizing skills, and public speaking—these became my tools.

Through WSM-supported activities, I learned about labour standards, participated in sectoral conferences, several basic and advanced training which boosted my knowledge on labour rights.  I now lead struggles, especially concerning MGNREGA wages. The ageing leaders pass the torch to me, and I’ve become a role model for youth in the agricultural sector."

Fading flowers? No, facing the world! AREDS, India, 2023

I’m Shanmuga, an 17-year-old girl who’s been through quite a journey. Life wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine for me. Irregular periods, loss of appetite, tiredness, hair falling out like autumn leaves, and a constant feeling of fatigue. Yep, that was my life. Anaemia had me in its grip, and it wasn’t letting go. But that wasn’t the worst part. Every time I saw another girl my age, I felt like a drooping flower next to a glowing bloom. My self-esteem? Well, it was buried somewhere deep, along with my energy.

Here enters the AREDS Health Team. They didn’t just throw medical jargon at me; they built a bridge of trust. Slowly, I spilled my worries—the irregular cycles, the hair loss, the whole shebang. And guess what? They didn’t judge. Instead, they handed me a lifeline. “Shanmuga,” they said, “meet your new best friends: bitter gourd, beetroot, turkey berry, pomegranate, dates, gooseberry, curry leaf, and jaggery.” Iron-rich foods became my daily companions. I chomped down on them like a hungry squirrel. And you know what? It worked! Six months of commitment, and my body thanked me. My menstrual cycle decided to play nice, anxiety took a vacation, and my hair even stopped its escape act.

Now, I’m not saying I turned into a superhero overnight. But I did feel lighter—physically and mentally. No more hiding in the shadows. I could face the world, chat with friends and neighbours. Plus, my parents didn’t need to mortgage the house for doctor visits. Bonus!

So here I am, an 17-year-old with a renewed spirit. Anaemia? It’s still there, but it’s no longer the boss of me. I’ve got my iron-packed squad, and we’re rocking this health thing. If you see a girl with a spring in her step, that’s probably me. And hey, if you’re dealing with your own struggles, remember: You’re not alone. There’s always a way to bloom, even in the toughest soil.

Youth not leaders of tomorrow, but of today - GEFONT, Nepal 2023

“I have always been an activist and was part of the student union. When I joined KFC in Kathmandu, I looked to join the union, where most were very senior leaders, quite old. In the beginning this was difficult, because I felt so inexperienced but now I can say I am not only a member, but also a leader. We should not be considered the leaders of tomorrow, but already today.” 

Neel Kashi, Hotel Sector union 

Neel Kashi is a young worker and was not confident to speak in public. After his studies he joined KFC Hotel in Kathmandu. When he was in college, he was engaged in students' union work and very interested to learn about the union work in the hotel sector. He witnessed for instance a woman worker at KFC having issues with her working hours, was supported by the union, which negotiated for her. But since the union leaders were quite seniors, Neel was shy and lacked confidence. 

Neel participated in different campaigns from the union and also attended a training on labour rights and collective bargaining. He went to demonstrate in May Day Rallies and also different youth events organized by GEFONT. 

By his active participation in these different events, he started to understand the importance of unions in the workplace and and his confidence level went up. Now, he holds a leadership position in the hotel union and contributes to organising more young workers to join the union.

Youth for Social Transformation: Nepal sees Successful Intensive Discussion for International Youth Day 2020

In Nepal, on International Youth Day, an intensive discussion program on Youth for Social Transformation was held via Zoom. The Minister of Youth and Sports, Honorable Jagat Bishwokarma, was the chief guest for the program with Mr. Madhab Dhungel, Vice-president (National Youth Council Nepal) as special Guest. Mr. Tilottam Paudel, President of Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal and the Coordinator for National Coalition for Girls Rights (NCGR) facilitated the program between 70 participants, including dignitaries from 30 Civil Society Organizations, three iNGOs, five government representatives, 12 civil society networks, representatives from National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Youths. The program was organized by Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal (Jcycn), SDGs Studio and DHR Nepal in collaboration with the National Youth Council and NCGR. It was supported by KANALLAN Switzerland with Devchuli Television as Media Partner. 

The session started with a welcome speech by Ms. Irada Parajuli, executive Committee Member of NCGR. She was followed by Ms. Aastha Anirjit Bastakoti, a girl activist and a peer educator in Jcycn’s Girls Empowerment Program, who shared her experiences with tackling the social problems in her community, and municipality through organization and collaboration. She shared the support she gained, the challenges she faced and gave an inspiring speech to motivate fellow youth to raise their voices and work for social transformation by starting from ourselves, and to put words into practice. 

 Honorable Jagat Bishwakarma, Ministry of Youth and Sports shared the contextual need for programs like these and extended his gratitude and wishes to all Nepalese youth, in and out of Nepal. Focused on the theme of International Youth Day 2020 “Youth Engagement for Global Transformation”, he highlighted the need to create spaces for youth to be engaged and the need to forward a campaign where we can move ahead, together with youth to transform our society, while fighting practices harmful to us, especially child marriage, violence against children and girls, and discrimination, for a better future.

Mr. Sushil B.K.; writer, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Expert and activist, gave a presentation regarding the role youth can take play in eliminating harmful social and cultural practices like Gender Based Violence, Caste best Discrimination, Chhaupadi, Dowry System, and Child Marriage, with the comparative portrayal of the society’s reality and what we need to achieve. Milan Dharel, Executive Director of National Child Rights Council highlighted the need of a critical perspective in youth to move ahead, the need to build trust, and more importantly, be our own role models so that our words are reflected in our actions. This was followed by a speech from Mr. Pushkar Khati, Member Secretary from the Social Welfare Council Nepal, who focused on the need for accountability in youth, self-reflection, and the need to spread that spirit among all the youth in the nation.

In the open floor session,  participants discussed about various ways socio-cultural transformation through youth is possible, including government and stakeholder joint action programs, regularity of collaboration, personal accountability, inclusion of youth with disability, and gender minority, and an organized movement. Dignitaries and participants discussed the government policies targeted at youth, how it has progressed throughout the years but also the gaps in implementation, and especially equitable implementation disaster, the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy and youth. Dipendra Sharma from Care Nepal shared his field based experience and the issues that are prevalent in the society, which are especially discriminatory towards girls. The province 5’s head of province of NHRC Ms. Samjhana Sharma also talked about the role the human rights commission has played, and what kind of practices to progress are seen. Activists Bhakta Bishwakarma, Rabin Nepali, Karun Nepali from Raleigh International, and Journalist K.B Rana also shared their views in the discussion forum. 

After the open floor session, Mr. Madhav Dhungel, Vice President of National Youth Council Nepal discussed various programs brought forth by the National Youth Council (NYC) for the engagement of youths, entrepreneurship, capacity building and employment of youth and the role it plays in development of the nation. He also went into how NYC has been mobilizing youth in collaboration with other stakeholders with a goal to generate a progressive society, and working as  a bridge between youth and opportunities. He elaborated on how this can result in a transformative society with active, and engaged youth that are more aware.

 Ms. Manmaya Bhattarai Pangeni, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women Children and Senior Citizens elaborated that 2020 is the year of Generation Equality and how the meaningful participation of youth is important and we need to be creating spaces for them. It is equally important to groom children from an early age and provide them with moral education so that we generate strong youth who are socially responsible. She gave examples of good international practices that have developed a culture of progressive youth. The program ended with a vote of thanks from Mr. Pradeep Lamichhane, Chairperson of SDGs Studio. 

In celebration of the International Youth Day 2020 with the slogan, “Youth Engagement for Global Action”, the main ceremony was celebrated with various virtual programs, on 12th August with Prime Minister KP Oli as the chief guest, and in the virtual presence of international guests from Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, China and India. The program was led by National Youth Council, in joint collaboration with various other Civil Society Organizations like Jcycn, UNOY, NCGR, SPCSN, AYON, Nepal Scouts, and 100 others. Welcome for the program was done by the Ms. Bipana Sharma, on behalf of AYON, Jcycn, NCFLG Forum and the entire youth. Prime Minister KP Oli focused on youth being the pillar of the nation and how investing in youth is investing in the future. He mentioned that the government of Nepal has allocated 7.6 billion Nepalese Rupees from different ministries and departments in youth sector, and that the priority of the government is to empower youth with knowledge, skills and tools. International Speakers and guests like Honorable State minister H.E. Md. Zahid Ahsan Russel, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Country representative Ms Valerie Julliand, Resident Co-ordinator of United Nations in Nepal, Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr. Md. Akhter Hossain, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Chairman, National Youth Services, Sri Lanka Theshara Jayasinghe Training Director, National Youth Service Council, Mr. Rasitha Delapola, Sri-lanka, and Deputy Director, International Youth Exchange Centre, Mr. Zhang Hua, China also shared their words highlighting the need to mobilize and engage youth for a better tomorrow. 

International Youth Day 2020, like every year, was successfully celebrated with programs all over the nation.

Young trade union leaders are not the future, they are today's leaders! (GEFONT)

Bikey Shrestha is a young taxi driver from the transport federation affiliated to GEFONT:

 “I am a young leader, but GEFONT has invested a lot in training us so we could take part in collective bargaining. The Nepali government recently imposed an Education Qualification requirement, which meant that taxi drivers, besides their driving licence, had to have studied until 16 years (finished class 10). Most taxi drivers currently don’t have this level of education, so it would have meant many would have lost their jobs or were at risk of being imprisoned. Our trade union played a vital role to dismiss this requirement, through the negotiations with the authorities, after we submitted a Policy Letter of Memorandum to the Traffic Police. We also managed to increase our salaries to 3750 NPR (27,2€) per month. However, we still haven’t manged to ensure the full implement of the Social Security Law, which is our next priority. Meanwhile, we have started a solidarity fund, to which all taxi drivers contribute and so when one of us has an accident, they can get some financial support.”

GEFONT dedicated the WSM support to organizing young workers and equipping them with leadership skills. Based on examples from brick factories in Bhaktapur and for transport sector, it seems Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) are what young workers feel has the most important impact, as it improves the lives of not only their members, but of all workers. One of their important messages was that young leaders aren’t the leaders of tomorrow, they should be leaders today! Young workers shouldn’t have to wait for positions to be given by the current leadership, but should demand and take up leadership positions now already, as young workers have specific issues and face articular challenges (internships, lack of permanent contracts, more at risk for sexual harassment etc.).

The main achievement through the WSM support is that GEFONT was able to organize the young workers within the GEFONT rank and file. Ramesh Badal, Steering Committee member for Nepal

What has the most significant change for young leaders in trade unions?

15 young leaders of GEFONT discussed this today in Kathmandu, with the help of Gopal. Based on examples from brick factories in Bhaktapur and for transport sector, it seems Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) are what they feel has the most important impact, as it improves the lives of not only their members, but of all workers.

One of the important messages was that young leaders aren’t the leaders of tomorrow, they should be leaders today! It meant for participants they don’t have to wait for positions to be given by the current leadership, but to demand and take up leadership positions, as young workers have specific issues and face particular challenges (internships, lack of permanent contracts, more at risk for sexual harassment etc.) that need to be represented already now at leadership level of trade unions or during CBA negotiations.

Indonesia synergy focuses on young workers and political action

The WSM partners in Indonesia KSBSI and SBMI working on labour migration choose young workers and political action as the areas they wanted to improve in.

For political action, they dream their synergy is able to influence the government in making labour migration policy and socialize it towards members and officials, especially at local level. In short term, they expect to see:

• Socialisation in four regions for 100 members of KSBSI and SBMI
• In three regions, meeting with local level authorities to explain legislation and adapt similar regulation at local level.
• Synergy drafts a proposal of local level regulations and ministerial decree at national level

On mid-term, they would like to see:

• Local level regulations are adopted and implemented in four provinces.
• Ministerial decree is adopted with operational details about recruitment agencies (criteria, responsibilities, fees)
• Synergy to influence the government during MoU for bilateral agreements regarding protection of migrant labourers

And in long term, the participants would love to see:

• Bilateral agreements between Indonesia and receiving countries hold provisions for migrant labourers passport held by labourers, legal assistance from embassies, freedom of association is respected, one day holiday/week, able to communicate with family.
• Government regulates and manages the placing of migrant labourers

Regarding the young workers, they hope the synergy contributes to young workers to be professional, responsible and independent. They expect to see in the short term:

• 100 young workers members are made aware of labour migration regulation
• Maintain or increase the involvement of young workers in synergy through leadership training, targetting them specifically in invitations for meetings or training, use of social media.
• Targetting students at universities and colleges before departure or employment to join trade union.

They would like to see the SBMI-KSBSI membership of young workers increases by 300 through the synergy activities. On long term, participants would love to see that through the synergy, 80% of these new members are aware of their rights and able to defend themselves.

As this was their first time using the WSM approach to capacity strengthening, participants greatly appreciated the session and the way it helped them evaluate their work and plan for the future.

Youth and social protection

One of the challenges, not only in Asia but also in Europe and around the world, is how to get youth involved in social movements and prioritized by policies and social protection. At the beginning of 2012, the world population surpassed 7 billion with people under the age of 30 accounting for more than half of this number (50.5%). According to a UNESCO survey, 89.7% of people under 30 lived in emerging and developing economies. But to which extent are they involved in the political choices of the societies they live in, have access to decent jobs and decent wages, and how much of a priority are youth for politicians? Most youth and especially young workers are excluded and ignored, very often working in the informal sector or leaving the country as migrant workers, and so they fall outside of the regulations and labour laws.

This is the topic some of the WSM partners discuss currently in Hong Kong, during a seminar conducted by the Young Christian Workers movement, where both the national YCW movements, meet with some of WSM trade union partners.

It is organized by the regional secretariat from YCW Asia and Pacific, and had input and facilitation from WSM, the International YCW, IMA and AMRC. One of the suggestion that came out of the workshop was to consider youth as a crosscutting issue, same as gender and environment, an angle that should be examined for each topic discussed. When we look at social protection, migration but also aspects from the organisations, like leadership or capacity strengthening, we should each time ask ourselves the question to which extent youth are affected and involved.

The meeting also offered the opportunity to explore some of the labour issues in Hong Kong, and field visits were done, first to KUCE place, in which IMA functions and where there was an interaction with some of the migrant workers. Participants also posed for a picture for online protest against the forest fires in Indonesia and the subsequent haze, which is causing air pollution and victims in the region. Sunday, Victoria Park in central Hong Kong was visited, where Indonesian migrant workers, mostly domestic workers, gather to share meals, perform dances and cultural events, and in general have fun and organize.

Youth bargaining collectively

Heard today during a negotiation between employers and workers :
The manager : « You have to realize, sometimes the relationship between management and workers is like that inside a family. Like the children, they complain about their parents and protest, and it is only once they leave and go out into the world, that they realize how good they had it and come back.”
The worker, smiling, replied with another image: “You know, management is a bit like a well. It has to be clear and transparent for people to drink from it. If they see it’s troubled and murky, they stay away from it.”
Now, this wasn’t a real negotiation, but it is pretty illustrative of the prevailing attitude in Nepal. It surely seemed very realistic to the participants of the role play. This simulation took place today during a training in collective bargaining for youth from our Nepali partner, GEFONT. In the video, you can hear some testimonies from the participants, the facilitator, M Ramesh Badal and our contact person at GEFONT, brother Gopal.


Some of the participants highlight the difficulties they have faced, but also why this training is so helpful. Tara, working in the administration for an eye clinic, says they rarely get a letter of appointment (similar to a contract), are under great pressure while working and no minimum wage. Bhim, who works for a trekking company, notes the discrepancy between what western tourists pay for their hikes and what the porters, who do the heavy work, get paid. Sabin, who works in a 5 star resort outside of Kathmandu, explains how they have successfully used the collective bargaining process to obtain 20 of their 31 demands, while the management initially only agreed to 5.

The participants, forty workers under 30 years old, come from around Kathmandu and represent different sectors and companies. They’re almost all from the formal sector since this is where the Collective Bargaining (CBA) process can take place. The informal sector is unfortunately excluded from this process, though it accounts for more than 90% of the workers in Nepal. Most of them work for companies with between 50 and 300 employees so the potential for substantial impact is huge. Just imagine, that one out of four uses his/her skills to obtain improvements for companies of on average 150 employees, that means 1.500 people could get access to better wages or working conditions! Not to mention the ripple effect in certain sectors such agreements could have...

According to the Nepali legislation, CBA starts when workers depose a Charter of Demands, to which the management has 21 days to reply. If management agree to the demands, a Letter of Agreement is drafted and signed. If not, the workers have to go to the Ministry of Labour, which attempts a mediation during 15 days. In theory, they have 15 days to do so, in reality, it often takes one or two months. Before, this process often led to a Collective Agreement which had force of law and was valid for two years. Now however, also because the Ministry of Labour has weakened, it often fails. Workers only then have the option to strike, after a vote by secret ballot gathering at least 60% of the workers, but they have to wait another 30 days before the strike can take place. Also, the Nepali government has put in place an ‘Essential Service Act’, which excludes certain sectors from this process and weakens the right to strike.

What struck me is that most of the negotiation aimed at... simply implementing and respecting current labour law. Basically, they had to negotiate and threaten to strike to enforce their already existing rights! An illustration of how often, ambitious laws or constitutions are passed, but that is only the start: a lot has to be done to ensure they are actually implemented, and hopefully this training with GEFONT will contribute to that! Because, even if the negotiation techniques and images used during the role play made me smile, it still draws a pretty sad picture....