Employees of the Nepal Securities Board (SEBON) have called off their protest after about one and a half months of agitation. They resumed work on Sunday, following an agreement reached between the protesting employees and the Ministry of Finance.
According to the agreement, a study committee will be formed to provide recommendations ensuring that employees’ benefits and facilities will not be reduced. The committee was formed under the direction of Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal, after a meeting between Joint Secretary Uttarkumar Khatri and SEBON employees.
As per SEBON sources, the study committee will be coordinated by Board Director Binod Kumar Bhattarai, with Director Anand Raj Sharma Wagle and two SEBON employees as members. The committee has been instructed to submit a report with recommendations within three days.
The employees had intensified their protest after the Finance Ministry’s letter dated Bhadra 31, which they claimed undermined the board’s autonomy. They had even barred SEBON Chairman Santosh Narayan Shrestha from entering the office, bringing operations to a halt.
Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal had earlier instructed significant expenditure cuts, the cancellation of SEBON’s Employee Welfare Fund procedures, and the recovery of payments made from that fund. The employees argued that the directive violated the board’s independence and deprived them of long-standing benefits, leading them to launch a work stoppage and protest from the first week of Ashoj.
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