Labour in Nepal

Nepal has a labour force of 16.8 million workers, the 37th largest in the world as of 2017.^[1] Although agriculture makes up only about 28 per cent of Nepal's GDP, it employs more than two-thirds of the workforce.^[2] Millions of men work as unskilled labourers in foreign countries, leaving the household, agriculture, and raising of children to women alone. Most of the working-age women are employed in the agricultural sector, contributions to which are usually ignored or undervalued in official statistics. Few women who are employed in the formal sectors face discrimination and significant wage gap. Almost half of all children are economically active, half of which (almost a quarter of all children) are child labourers. Millions of people, men, women and children of both sexes, are employed as bonded labourers, in slavery-like conditions. Trade unions have played a significant role in bringing about better working conditions and workers' rights, both at the company level and the national government level. Worker-friendly labour laws, endorsed by the labour unions as well as business owners,^[3] provide a framework for better working conditions and secure future for the employees, but their implementation is severely lacking in practice.^[4] Among the highly educated, there is a significant brain-drain, posing a significant hurdle in fulfilling the demand for skilled workforce in the country.

The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security governs the development of labour and employment policies in Nepal. The Labour Act, 2017 (2074) is the governing labor law in Nepal enacted to make provisions for the rights, interests, and benefits of workers and develop clear provisions for the rights and duties of employers.^[5]