
Issue No 81		08 December 2000

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International

Nepalese Hotel Workers Ask for Support

Hotel workers in the small Himalayan nation of Nepal have finally decided to vent their anger and call a general strike for Monday - over a 21 year old dispute.

And they have asked Australian hotel workers to show their support. The hotel workers have issued an international plea for solidarity.

They have asked union members around the world who are connected to the 'net to send e-mails to a list of 60-plus hotels in Nepal telling them you back Nepalese hotel workers.

One LHMU Hotel Union member has already sent e-mails to the hotel managements and in return received some abusive, and foul-mouthed, responses.

It seems the hotel managements are feeling the pressure of the international spotlight.

Ramhari, the Nepalese Hotel Workers' Union Vice-President - who works at the Radisson Hotel in Kathmandu - has also sent an e-mail to say thanks for the support.

" We have now started the first stage of our campaign by wearing black ribbon armbands to work. This will go on for four days in all the hotels of Nepal.

" If the Government and the Hotel employers' representatives negotiated we will not strike.

If not we will start our general strike from Monday in the hotels. We are all together," Ramhari said in an e-mail to an LHMU member.

The tourism industry has grown rapidly in Nepal with big names like the Hyatt, Radisson and Crown Plaza running upscale hotels in the capital Kathmandu.

You can get details of the Nepal hotel workers' dispute - and the list of e-mails if you click onto this story on the LabourStart website.

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  Issue 81 contents

Interview: Back to Work
After a stretch of unemployment following the 1996 election, former Keating Minister Robert Tickner is now helping others find work.

Media: Reality Check
Aiden White, head of the international journalists' union, argues that online journalism presents a new set of challenges for organising.

Economics: In the Same Boat
In an unprecedented move, a coalition of industry, community and trade union groups have joined forces to address long-trerm unemployment.

International: Nepalese Hotel Workers Ask for Support
Hotel workers in the small Himalayan nation of Nepal have finally decided to vent their anger and call a general strike for Monday - over a 21 year old dispute.

Unions: Speaking in Tongues
Labor Council's Mark Morey outlines the successful campaign by local government workers for a community language allowance.

History: Fighting Words
The anti-conscription campaign of 1914-18 tore the ALP apart; but this was not the first time the labour movement took a militantly anti-war stance.

Politics: A New Socialism
In an extract from his new book, political economist Frank Stilwell argues the need for a new radicalism to counter the Third Way

Satire: Roy Slaven on the Rampage
John Doyle's history of the ABC stretches back to a 1958 evening in Lithgow on which he was "scared shitless" by Blackboard on Mr Squiggle.

Review: Mauled in the Bear Pit
Vengeance may be sweet but it is always made better when you are able to write a book about yourself that also provides the opportunity to dump a bucket load on those who undertook your removal.

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