As the first phase of their protest on Sunday, the employees at UTL wore black arm bands and held a corner meet. They plan to intensify their agitation in stages till January 7. If the management still does not fulfil their demands, they will start a stronger movement.

The workers union has demanded a raise of Rs 15,000 per month as staff salaries have not been revised for a long period and inflation has soared. The agitators have also demanded that all the employees who have served for more than 240 days should be issued appointment letters as per the country’s Labour Act as a number of them have not received their appointment letters.

Other demands include modifying and redefining the existing human resources manual based on the Labour Act, provision for growth based on the working calibre, performance, time and academic qualification and provision for overtime based on the Labour Act.

According to Bikes Kumar Jha, president of the union, the demands made by the employees are valid and based on provision 74 (1) of Labour Act 1991.

“If these valid demands are not fulfilled within 21 days, we will be compelled to protest strongly,” Jha said in a statement, adding that the union was open to sorting out the differences through talks.

According to the workers union, the decision to hold protest was based on voting where more than 82 percent of the staff voted for it.