FNCCI completes formation of Employers' Council

KATHMANDU: Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has completed the formation of its Employers' Council, the organisation said on Thursday.

At the council’s inaugural meeting at the FNCCI Secretariat in Teku, FNCCI President Anjan Shrestha handed over nomination letters to newly appointed members. The council will be chaired by Prabal Jung Pandey.

Shrestha said the council is “extremely important for the reform and strengthening of the labour and employment sector, as well as for establishing industry- and business-friendly labour relations.” He noted that industrial labour relations are becoming more positive and harmonious than in the past and said discussions are underway at the ministerial level on determining minimum wages on a sector-wise basis. He urged council members to prepare “a common view of private sector and conduct effective policy work based on facts, studies, and international best practices.”

Highlighting the ongoing labour act amendment process, Shrestha said the council must lead in developing FNCCI’s official stance and in advancing dialogue with the government while keeping future labour market needs, industrial requirements, investment promotion, productivity growth and a competitive economy in mind.

The meeting unanimously approved the nomination of Babu Kaji Karki as co-chairperson of the Employers' Council, an appointment made from among elected associate members in accordance with Article 43.1 of the FNCCI Statute, 2049 (Seventh Amendment).

Members agreed to hold detailed discussions at the next session on the council’s long-term strategy for 2026–2029, the annual action plan, labour and employment policy work, and collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). The agenda will also include social security, strengthening industrial relations, reducing labour disputes and FNCCI’s gender-responsive membership expansion strategy.

Addressing the meeting, Employers' Council Chairperson Prabal Jung Pandey said he was confident the council, as the official employer representative organisation of Nepal’s private sector, would make tripartite social dialogue with the government, trade unions and development partners “more effective, result-oriented, and trustworthy.” He pledged the council would play a leading role in creating an industry- and business-friendly labour environment, promoting investment and entrepreneurship, enhancing productivity and competitiveness, creating decent employment, developing labour relations with social justice, and strengthening the private sector’s role in Nepal’s economic transformation.

Pandey added that the Employers' Council will be developed into “an effective platform contributing to the economic prosperity of Nepal by establishing it as the common voice of the private sector regarding FNCCI's evidence-based policy work, labour law reform, skill development, apprenticeship, social security, and international labour standards.”