By Rusha Thapa

Bhaktapur, Nepal — While walking along the streets, one can easily notice posters and pamphlets carrying the words "Employees Needed" pasted everywhere—from electric poles and house walls to school compounds. These advertisements typically state that candidates with SEE or Plus Two qualifications are required, offering office hours from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and a monthly salary ranging from NPR 15,500 to NPR 18,000.

A contact number is also provided. Besides posters, people are often seen distributing such pamphlets on overhead bridges, public spaces, and busy streets. Trusting these advertisements, many unemployed individuals call the numbers and are invited to visit a designated location.

Upon arrival, they find employment agencies that promise attractive jobs with appealing salaries and benefits. Once the job seekers are convinced, they are asked to fill out application forms, for which they must pay fees ranging from NPR 500 to NPR 1,000. They are then assured that a job will be arranged within a month.

Some eventually secure employment, while many do not. Even those who get jobs often discover that the promised salary and benefits do not exist. Instead, they are subjected to difficult working conditions, often laboring from early morning until late at night. In many cases, they must surrender one to three months' worth of salary to the agency that placed them. After a few months, they frequently lose their jobs, leaving them cheated not only financially but also in terms of their time, effort, and expectations.

As unemployment continues to rise across the country, desperate job seekers are becoming easy targets for exploitation. Unscrupulous individuals and companies are taking advantage of their vulnerability by offering false hopes of employment while profiting from their desperation.

The government has set the minimum monthly wage for workers at around NPR 21,000 and requires wages to be deposited directly into employees' bank accounts. Workers are entitled to reasonable working hours, public holidays, medical support, festival allowances, life insurance, and enrollment in the Social Security Fund.

However, the reality in many private-sector workplaces is entirely different. Workers are often forced to work from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for salaries as low as NPR 7,000 to NPR 15,000 per month. They are denied public holidays, medical benefits, festival bonuses, and paid leave. Many are threatened with dismissal if they ask for time off. Social security coverage and insurance remain distant dreams for most laborers.

Even these meger salaries are frequently delayed. Employers often cite economic recession as an excuse for withholding wages for months or even years. As a result, many workers struggle to pay rent, educate their children, or even provide food for their families. Some survive on debt and hunger while continuing to work in the hope that they will eventually receive their unpaid wages.

Nepal's labor laws prohibit the employment of children under 18 and place restrictions on elderly individuals. Yet children, teenagers, and senior citizens can be found working in hotels, restaurants, shops, brick kilns, transportation services, and domestic labor. It is not uncommon to see workers as young as seven and as old as seventy-five engaged in physically demanding jobs.

Meanwhile, the government has significantly increased the salaries and benefits of civil servants. Government employees enjoy salary hikes, allowances, free refreshments, uniforms, transportation facilities, medical coverage, insurance, social security benefits, and pension schemes after retirement.

Despite these privileges, public frustration regarding inefficiency and corruption within government offices remains widespread. Many citizens complain about delayed services, excessive bureaucracy, and demands for bribes. Routine administrative tasks often take weeks or months unless unofficial payments are made.

Workers in the private sector face rising living costs just as government employees do. Inflation does not discriminate between public and private workers. Therefore, the government should pay greater attention to the wages and welfare of private-sector employees. Many businesses have accumulated wealth while failing to provide workers with fair compensation for their labor.

Whether employed in the public or private sector, all workers are citizens who deserve dignity, protection, and fair treatment. The government should take stronger action against fraudulent employment agencies, enforce labor laws effectively, and ensure that private-sector workers receive wages that reflect the true value of their contribution to society.

Only then can Nepal move toward a more just and equitable labor system.