Employees of the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal (SEB) have returned to work after 48 days after the Finance Ministry reviewed the decision to cut employee benefits. The employees are ready to postpone the strike after the Finance Ministry agreed to review the letter written earlier to cut employee benefits. However, they claim that the strike has not been postponed, but only changed its form.

In the discussion held at the Ministry of Finance on Sunday morning, it was agreed to form a committee under the coordination of Binod Kumar Bhattarai, who is representing the Ministry of Law on the Securities Board Board, to address the problems of the employees. The members of the committee include another board director, Ananda Raj Wagle, and executive director, Binaydev Acharya. Board Secretary Niranjay Ghimire is the member secretary of the committee.

Chairman Santosh Narayan Shrestha said that the informal agreement reached in the morning meeting of the board board at the Ministry of Finance on Sunday evening has been formalized. Accordingly, the committee will submit a report within three days. The Securities Board will request the ministry to review the previous letter from the Ministry of Finance stating that the employee benefits have been reduced.

Based on the recommendation of the committee, the Securities Board Board will decide and send the Ministry of Finance's letter regarding the reduction in benefits for review. It is seen that the 48-day-old agitation will end after the Ministry of Finance reviews its previous decision based on the same letter. However, the employees have been saying that they will not stop the agitation until their demands are fully addressed, only changing the form.

The Finance Ministry will review its previous letter and an agreement has been reached with the agitating employees, said Securities Board Chairman Shrestha. “A study committee has been formed under the coordination of a director,” he said. “The committee will submit a report within three days. Based on the report’s suggestions, the board will send the Finance Ministry to review the previous letter regarding the reduction of employee benefits.”

Discussions have been going on at the Finance Ministry for the past few days between the board chairman, directors, and the agitating employees to resolve the problem. In the meantime, on Sunday morning, a joint meeting of Board Chairman Shrestha, directors, office bearers of the agitating employee union, and the Finance Ministry joint secretaries at the Finance Ministry agreed to form a committee. It is said that the regular work of the board will proceed from Monday. Employees say that they will hold a sit-in program every morning even after returning to work and then resume work.

The functioning of the board, the regulatory body of the capital market, had been at a standstill for 48 days. The Securities Board employees were on strike for the 48th day on Sunday, saying that the Finance Ministry had cut the services and facilities they had been receiving. The employees had started the protest since 7 Ashoja. Since then, no work has been done at the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal. Despite the agitation, employees had allowed Chairman Shrestha and other board members to enter the office until last week. However, since last Sunday, employees had blocked the office from entering, demanding the chairman's resignation, saying that he had not played any role in resolving the problem. For this reason, the board had been holding board meetings and discussions at the Ministry of Finance.

The Secretary-level decision of the Ministry of Finance on 31 Bhadra had decided to immediately revoke the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal Employees Welfare Fund Procedure 2071 and the Employees Security Fund (Operation and Management) Procedure 2075. The ministry has stated that the aforementioned procedure was revoked on the grounds that it was issued in violation of Rule 167 of the Nepal Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal Employee Service, Conditions of Service Regulations, 2068. The Ministry of Finance has also decided to immediately start the process of recovering the amount paid from the fund in the past from the concerned person as government dues based on the procedures made in violation of the prevailing law. The Ministry of Finance has also directed that the system of mandatory obtaining the consent of the Ministry of Finance before making any decision on financial obligations in the future should be implemented.

Employees had gone on strike against this directive. It is estimated that the stock market has become more volatile as the regulatory body board has not done anything for a month and a half. Since the board's employees are on strike, they have not done anything. Securities brokers have been saying that this has benefited brokers and stock investors. The frontline regulator NEPSE has also not been able to work effectively since the regulatory body did not look into it. In such a situation, everyone was in a state of chaos, so anyone could do anything.

Investors and energy producers had said that they were having problems because the board was not working. Similarly, the Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal had stopped issuing primary shares (IPOs) and rights shares for 28 months. Although some companies were allowed to issue IPOs in recent months, the Independent Power Producers Association (IPPAN) has stated that they are having problems now that the work has come to a standstill. IPPAN says that private sector investors have been discouraged by the Securities and Exchange Board's delay in issuing shares.