Rapport intérimaire - Rapport No. 259, Novembre 1988

Cas no 1337 (Népal) - Date de la plainte: 21-MAI -85 - Clos

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INTRODUCTION
A. Previous examination of the case
D. The Committee's conclusions
The Committee's recommendations

427. The Committee has examined this case on four previous occasions - in May
1986, May and November 1987 and most recently in May 1988, when it submitted
- interim reports to the Governing Body (see 244th Report, paras. 337 to 356,
251st Report, paras. 373 to 398, 253rd Report, paras. 302 to 327, and 256th
- Report, paras. 282 to 309, each approved by the Governing Body). Since then,
- the Government has sent a detailed reply, dated 20 June 1988, to the
- allegations submitted in this case and the complainant sent additional
- information in a letter of 9 September 1988.
428. Nepal has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the
- Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) or the Right to Organise and
- Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No 98).

A. Previous examination of the case

429. The allegations in this case refer to (1) refusal, since 1980, by the
authorities to register the Nepal National Teachers' Association (NNTA); (2)
refusal by the Minister of Education to enter into negotiations with the NNTA,
whereas two new government-controlled teachers' unions had been set up; (3)
repressive actions by the authorities, including the death of the following
seven district officers of the NNTA at the hands of the police in 1985: Mr.
Gandir Shrestha, shot to death on 19 May 1985; Mr. Tanka Bhushal (of the Argha
Khanchi district), died after having been beaten by police at his home; Mr.
Min Bar Chand (of the Baitadi district), beaten to death at a police station;
Mr. Abikeshar Bharati (of the Jhapa district), found dead outside his village;
Mr. Mahendra Tadav (of the Sirha district), shot at his home by bandits known
to be in the employ of a local landlord; Mr. Suresh Shar Burja (of the Myagdi
district), shot by persons employed for purposes of intimidation by a member
of the legislature and Mr. Ram Dev Pandit (of the Dhanusa district), who fell
ill in prison, was refused medical treatment, released in extremis and died
before reaching hospital; detention for over two years of eight NNTA leaders;
police interference in the NNTA second national conference and mass arrests of
demonstrating teachers. The complainant organisation supplied a list of 61
named teachers allegedly dismissed because of their trade union activities and
a list of 35 named teachers allegedly transferred for such activities.
430. In its communication of 25 May 1987, the Government denied the
allegations contained in the NNTA's complaint, stating that they were baseless
and malicious and were intended to malign the Government. It admitted,
however, that it had set up an ad hoc committee to draft a constitution to
form a teachers' association for the promotion of teaching and academic work,
career development and protection of the rights and interests of teachers,
within the parameters of the Constitution and the law of the land, that this
committee was chaired by a Member of Parliament and that it had drafted the
constitutions of two associations, the Nepal National Primary Teachers'
Association and the Nepal National Secondary Teachers' Association, which had
been approved by the Government, and that central-level ad hoc committees had
been constituted to set up the primary- and secondary-level teachers'
associations as envisaged in the newly drafted constitutions. On the other
hand, the Government denied that any teacher had been imprisoned on the
grounds of his or her educational or academic pursuits.
431. In a subsequent communication dated 30 July 1987, the WCOTP alleged that
the police hindered the activities of its Asian Regional Representative while
he was in Kathmandu and prevented the holding of its affiliate's third
national conference, scheduled for 25-27 June 1987, at which 185 NNTA
delegates had been expected. In addition, the WCOTP cited a newspaper report
of the Minister of Education's statement in Parliament to the effect that any
organisation other than the newly formed Nepal National Primary Teachers'
Association and the Nepal National Secondary Teachers' Association would be
illegal under section 6 of the Act of the year 2018 BS of the Nepalese
calendar, which prohibits the creation of associations parallel to already
registered ones, quoting the same Minister as threatening "strong action"
against those planning a conference on 25-27 June and indulging in activities
banned by law.
432. The WCOTP also supplied a list of 72 teachers arrested in connection
with the holding of the third national conference of the NNTA in June 1987 and
stated that the first arrests of teachers in connection with this conference
began as delegates from outlying areas were preparing to leave their homes a
week before the conference. According to the WCOTP, teachers were seized,
confined to cells where there was no room to lie down and refused food. The
WCOTP stated further that on 25 June, an attempt by the police to enter the
NNTA office was frustrated by a gathering of local people, that the premises
on which the conference was to be held were surrounded by police but that the
conference had finally taken place at an undisclosed location. The conference
was alleged to have been peaceful and attended by Members of Parliament,
representatives of parents, students, professional associations and the press,
and to have elected a national executive committee.
433. In a more recent communication dated 16 December 1987, the WCOTP stated
further that Mr. Sushill Chandra Amatya, a founder member of the NNTA, was
still in prison four months after his arrest. It also supplied a list of nine
named teachers who were leaders of the NNTA and were arrested in November
1987, and added that repression continued; that the salaries of teachers with
NNTA connections were not paid; and that government officials were visiting
every school, threatening and pressing teachers to join the two associations
formed by the Government.
434. In a communication dated 29 January 1988, the Government reiterated its
previous statements and affirmed that the constitutions of the two
associations of primary and secondary teachers had been duly approved by the
Government on 12 February 1987 in accordance with the National Guidance Act of
the year 2018 BS of the Nepalese calendar, and that these constitutions had
been adopted after discussions at a meeting of the teachers' representatives
from all of the 14 zones of Nepal.
435. It admitted, however, that persons, who, it stated, no longer belonged
to the teaching profession had opposed these two associations; these were Mr.
Devi Prasad Ojha and Mr. Sita Ram Maskey and a handful of others, and that
these persons had submitted the constitution of their Association in the year
2036 BS of the Nepalese calendar, but the constitution had not been approved
by the Government because it made no provision for representation of
primary-school teachers, and because these teachers were vehemently opposed to
it and had made an application for a separate association of their own. The
Government added that these persons had tried to sow the seeds of discontent
in the teaching profession and that they had misled some of their colleagues,
declaring themselves to be members of committees which they had secretly
constituted.
436. Nevertheless, the constitutions independently prepared by the secondary-
and primary-school teachers from all of the 14 zones of Nepal had been warmly
welcomed by the entire community of teachers, and a large number of teachers
who were once the supporters of the constitution of the teachers' association
were now serving as members of the ad hoc committees formed pursuant to the
approved constitutions of these two associations, stated the Government.
437. It concluded that these two associations had as one of their aims that
of electing office-bearers, and that district-level committees had been
constituted in nearly half of the districts through democratic means.
Elections of trade union leaders at both levels had taken place among the
teachers. The so-called NNTA leaders were, on the other hand, according to the
Government, only self-declared leaders. Nine of them, including a general
secretary, had in a joint declaration denounced the so-called NNTA for
publishing their names as leaders of the NNTA without their prior knowledge,
and had disassociated themselves from the "association". The Government
confirmed, however, that it had not authorised the holding of a conference by
the so-called NNTA in June 1987, as this association was illegal.
438. At its May 1988 Session, the Governing Body approved the following
interim conclusions of the Committee:
a) The Committee regrets that, despite the time which has elapsed since
the allegations were made, the Government has supplied only general
observations on this case and that it has not yet replied to several specific
and extremely serious allegations.
b) The Committee recalls that workers' organisations should have the right
to draw up freely their own constitutions and rules without interference from
the public authorities.
c) The Committee urges the Government to supply detailed information on any
judicial inquiry that might have been carried out into the alleged deaths of
teacher trade unionists at the hands of the police in 1985, to state the
charges brought against the eight named trade union leaders of the NNTA, to
give explanations of the violent occupation of premises and confiscation of
NNTA property in May 1985, and to state whether the teachers arrested in June
and November 1987, as well as trade union leader Sushill Chandra Amatya have
been released.
B. The Government's reply
439. In a lengthy and detailed communication dated 20 June 1988, the
Government supplies specific and precise information and observations on
different aspects of the complaint lodged by the WCOTP in this case.
440. As regards the allegation concerning the refusal of the authorities,
since 1980, to register the Nepal National Teachers' Association (NNTA), the
Government explains that the authorities had to refuse registration of the
NNTA for the main reason that this association, from the beginning of its
formation, engaged itself in politically motivated activities rather than in
academic and professional activities for which it was created, that some of
the leaders of the NNTA are established political activists and that because
of its anti-Government stance, its policy of confrontation with the Government
and its provocative activities, the NNTA was refused registration and
recognition by the Government. Therefore, according to the National Guidance
Act of 2018 BS of the Nepalese calendar, the so-called NNTA was declared
illegal.
441. The Government states that it does not have a policy of favouritism or
discrimination since, except for the NNTA, all other professional
organisations, associations and unions in Nepal (such as the Engineers'
Association, the Doctors' Association, the University Teachers' Association,
the Students' Union, the trade unions, class organisations, labour
organisations) have been registered indiscriminately under existing laws of
the land and that they are allowed to function freely within the parameters of
the Constitution, for the promotion and the defence of their occupational
interests. The NNTA, continues the Government, is the only association that
has been denied registration, because of its subversive activities and because
it violated professional ethics by misleading the teachers' associations and
by carrying out activities contrary to what it had been created for. Any
government reserved the right to deny, suspend or dissolve any association if
it carried out subversive activities.
442. As regards the allegation concerning the refusal by the Minister of
Education to enter into negotiation with the NNTA, whereas two new
government-controlled teachers' unions had been set up, the Government replies
that it was not the Government which had been adamantly opposed to negotiating
with the NNTA, but that it was the NNTA itself which had not been interested
in bargaining. However, the Government states that on many occasions it had
invited the NNTA for talks regarding issues concerning teachers. In 1982, when
the teachers went on strike, the Government had taken the initiative to
negotiate with the NNTA, with the result that the three-month-long strike had
been called off. In 1984, the Government had taken another initiative. The
NNTA was led by the then President, Mr. Janak Pyakurel, and the Government was
represented by the Home Minister. Unfortunately, the negotiations failed.
Following the failure of negotiations, the teachers loyal to the Government
started organising themselves and formed an association under the name "Pragik
Samgosthi" (Academic Association of Teachers) which had extended to 50 out of
the 75 districts of Nepal. However, the Government was not happy with this
development. What it really wanted was the creation of a strong, dynamic and
independent teachers' association capable of safeguarding its due rights,
promoting its occupational interests and making a substantial contribution to
achieving the national goals in education.
443. Again, the Government admits having taken the initiative to constitute
an ad hoc committee to draft constitutions for teachers. However, it explains
that these constitutions were to be more democratic and broad-based, more
realistic and acceptable for teachers. At the Government's request, the NNTA
Central Executive Committee meeting was held on BS 2043.8.27 of the Napalese
calendar (corresponding to 11 December 1986). This Committee decided to send
five of its members to represent the NNTA to the constitution drafting
committee. These were Mr. Bimal Koirala, acting president of the Central
Committee of the NNTA; Mr. Kameswor Prasad Singh, vice-president; Mr. Kali
Prasad Pokharel, acting vice-president; Mr. Ghana Shyam Poudel, secretary; and
Mr. Mohan Narayan Shrestha, a member of the NNTA. There were also 12 other
teachers representing private schools, female teachers from primary and
secondary schools all over the country, two people's representatives from the
National Legislature and two government officials (merely to facilitate and
expedite the work entrusted to them, explains the Government). The proportion
of teachers represented was thus 17 out of 21. Therefore, according to the
Government, the new constitutions were drafted and adopted virtually by the
teachers and for the teachers without making any provisions in the new
constitutions for the Government to control the newly formed teachers'
associations, the Nepal National Secondary Teachers' Association (NNSTA) and
the Nepal National Primary Teachers' Association (NNPTA).
444. The members of the drafting committee, continues the Government, took
into consideration the wish of primary-level teachers to form and join their
own association since they had had one in 1973, to be free from the domination
of secondary teachers in order to protect their own rights and to promote
their interests. It was agreed to create two separate teachers' associations.
Therefore the creation of two teachers' associations was neither artificial
nor unprecedented. The Government's role was limited to calling the first
meeting and encouraging the teachers to proceed further on their own. They
were never interfered with or controlled either by the Government or by any
other outside agency.
445. Under the new constitutions, the elections of the district-level
executive committees and delegates to the national conference were conducted
in 70 of the 75 districts in Nepal. In the remaining five districts, which
are the remotest in Nepal, elections are to be held in July 1988. According to
the ad hoc central committee, 85 to 90 per cent of teachers belong to the new
associations. The rapid growth of both the secondary and primary teachers'
associations is evidence of the teachers' faith in the new constitutions and
their trust and confidence in the new union leadership. The first national
conference under the new constitutions is planned to be held in October 1988
and 550 delegates from all of the districts of Nepal are expected to attend.
Some leaders and members of the NNTA have joined the new associations. They
are Mr. Bimal Koirala, former acting president; Mr. Kameswor Prasad Singh,
former vice-president; Mr. Ghana Shyam Poudel, former secretary, and four
members of the central executive committee of the NNTA, Mr. Mohan Narayan
Shrestha, Mr. Oba Bahadur Dange, Mr. Bisam Dutta Bhatta and Mr. Mrigendra
Subedi, who, having joined the new teachers' associations, won the elections
in their respective districts.
446. On the other hand, explains the Government, other members of the NNTA
central executive committee, Mr. Sitaram Maskey, Mr. Kul Prasad Nepal, Mr.
Gore Bahadur Khapangi, Mr. Parsu Ram Khapung and Mr. Chudamni Upadhyaya, no
longer belong to the teaching profession. According to the Government, the
facts cited explain that the allegations made against the Government are false
and baseless.
447. As regards the allegation concerning the death of teacher unionists at
the hands of the police in 1985, the Government replies that they are
completely unknown to it. It notes that the WCOTP has given the names of the
teachers allegedly dismissed, transferred or arrested, but has not given the
names of the teachers killed. According to the Government, it is ridiculous
that allegations of such magnitude and seriousness as the death of six
unionists while in police custody are made without further specification,
while incidents of much less importance are detailed and specified. The
Government states further that any person with common sense can therefore see
that the allegation is not only false and baseless but is also intended to
malign the Government, which is not a dictatorship but a government of the
people based on the principles of social justice and equity.
448. As regards the allegation concerning the detention for over two years of
eight NNTA leaders, the Government states that it has not detained any teacher
for over two years in connection with the teachers' movement or activities. If
any teacher is being detained, it is not for his professional activities but
for state offences. Thus, even Mr. Debi Ojha, former general secretary and one
of the critics of the Government, was released last year following
negotiations with the NNSTA and is moving freely to present his case, without
any success up to now. Not a single person in the teaching profession is in
detention now, affirms the Government.
449. As regards the allegation of police interference in the second national
conference of the NNTA and mass arrests of demonstrating teachers, the
Government states that any government would interfere to stop unauthorised and
illegal meetings, conferences or demonstrations. According to the Government,
any such arrests are only of a preventive nature. It recalls that the second
national conference of the NNTA was being held without any previous
authorisation, although the existing laws of the land require previous
approval by the authorities for unregistered associations or organisations to
hold meetings or conferences.
450. As regards the allegation of dismissals and transfers of teachers, the
Government admits that it has dismissed teachers, but claims that this is not
because of their trade union activities, but for other undesirable
non-professional activities. It adds that it pays the salary of the teachers
for teaching in the schools and that if any of them, instead of teaching in
the schools, engage in other activities and use the school as a forum for the
realisation of their personal interests or political ideology, the Government
has, in such cases, no other option than to take necessary action against such
teachers. However, according to the Government, the negligible number of
teachers who had been dismissed or transferred and who, having realised their
mistake, wished to rejoin their schools, have been reinstated.
451. As regards the allegation that the new teachers' associations are
artificial because they were created by the Government, the latter denies that
this is so and once again affirms that they are, on the contrary, most
representative, since the overwhelming majority of teachers are members of
them. It is the NNTA, according to the Government, which is artifical and
cannot claim to be a teachers' association since the self-declared leaders,
such as Mr. Debi Prasad Ojha and Mr. Sitaram Maskey, who are no longer in the
teaching profession, are standing for the NNTA illegally, along with a handful
of followers. The Government considers that they are fighting desperately in a
losing war.
452. As regards the allegation concerning the arrest of 72 teachers who were
detained in cells with no place to lie down and denied food, the Government
considers that there can be no more false and baseless allegation than this.
It states that not even the most heinous criminal in detention is denied food
to eat and a place to lie down, not to mention teachers, who are the
intellectuals of the country.
453. The Government concludes with observations on the conclusions and
recommendations made by the Committee of the ILO on this case. In general, it
regrets that the information supplied in its communication dated 25 May 1987
was found inadequate. It also deplores the fact that the WCOTP, which is a
reputed international organisation of the teaching profession, believed,
without examining them, whatever complaints its affiliate, the NNTA,
dispatched to it. The Government explains that it found the complaints so
malicious and baseless that it did not deem it worth while to give its
observations on them. However, the Government is sorry that its silence has
jeopardised the decision of the Committee on Freedom of Association. It is
also sorry to note that the Committee has been obliged to examine the case in
the absence of specific and detailed information.
454. In particular, the Government gives its assurance that it never takes
any action of reprisal against anybody. It affirms that it cannot be
irresponsible. Therefore, no members of the NNTA need feel insecure. The
Government maintains that it has not infringed the basic principle of freedom
of association, that it has not created teachers' associations without their
consent, and that teachers are free to choose their leaders, to follow any
line of action and amend their constitutions according to their needs.
455. As everybody knows, explains the Government, in Nepal, two Members of
Parliament, Mr. Sarad Singh Bhandari and Benu Prasad Prasai, who were in the
constitution drafting committee, were great critics of the Government and
strong advocates of teachers' rights at the time of drafting of the
constitutions. What is important, according to the Government, is not who
drafted the constitution but what is contained in it and how free the teachers
are to defend their rights and promote their interests. A comparative study
with previous texts would show that the new constitutions are broader-based,
containing provisions for the representation of private schools and female
teachers and that they have more democratic provisions for membership,
election to office and for a greater representation in district and
national-level assemblies. They are also more realistic and acceptable than
the constitution adopted by the NNTA in the year 2036 BS of the Nepalese
calendar.
456. Another example of freedom of movement and action of teachers under the
new constitutions is that, as soon as the central ad hoc committee was formed
in 1987, it presented eight demands to the Government. One of its demands was
the immediate release of all teachers in detention and reinstatement of
teachers transferred or dismissed. Abiding by the demand, the Government
released all teachers, including Mr. Debi Ojha, and the teachers dismissed or
transferred have been reinstated in the districts of Morang and Sunsari. Only
Mr. Sushill Chandra Amatya and Mr. Sitaram Maskay (the latter was a candidate
in the last general election but lost) are in detention, not for union
activities but for offences against the State.
457. As regards the recommendation of the Committee on Freedom of Association
to set up a judicial inquiry to investigate the alleged death of six district
officers of the NNTA, the Government states that it cannot take up the case
unless the so-called NNTA specifies when and where they were killed.
458. As regards the alleged police raid on the premises of the NNTA and
confiscation of union papers on 17 May 1985, the Government explains that the
police only dispersed the crowd that gathered there on that day, but did not
break into the union's office and did not confiscate union papers.
459. Lastly, the Government states that it is willing to welcome an ILO
representative to Nepal to see if ILO standards and principles on freedom of
association are met.
C. Additional information from the complainant
460. In a letter of September 1988, the WCOTP states that Sushill Chandra
Amatya and Chabi Chandra Dhakal are still detained, Raj Prasai was arrested by
the police and that several teachers have been dismissed and transferred.

D. The Committee's conclusions

461. The Committee notes all of the information, observations and denials of
- the Government in reply to the complainant's allegations of the refusal, since
1980, by the authorities to register the Nepal National Teachers' Association
- (NNTA) and to enter into negotiations with it, government interference in
- drafting the constitutions of the new associations and the artificial nature
- of these associations, police intervention in the second national conference
- of the NNTA and the violent death, arrests, detention, dismissal and transfers
- of trade union activists and leaders in the education sector. In the light of
- the information available, the Committee notes that the versions given by the
- complainant and the Government are contradictory.
462. As regards the Government's refusal to register the NNTA, the Committee
- notes that, according to the Government, this association is alleged to have
- adopted an anti-Government attitude from the outset and to have refused to
- enter into consultation with it on issues involving teachers in 1984. The
- Committee also notes that the Government admits that in 1982, after a
- three-month-long teachers' strike, the Government itself had taken the
- initiative of bargaining with the NNTA.
463. In the Committee's opinion, the fact that the Government had at first
- negotiated in 1982 with the NNTA, which had supported a three-month-long
- teachers' strike, and that it was later unable to enter into negotiations with
- the same association in 1984, did not entitle the Government to declare this
- association illegal and to support the setting up of two new associations
- which it considered more "realistic".
464. The Committee considers that, by placing one organisation at an
- advantage or disadvantage in relation to the others, a government influences
- the choice of workers regarding the organisation to which they intended to
- belong. It follows that acting in this fashion infringes the principle laid
- down in Convention No. 87, according to which the public authorities must
- refrain from any interference which would restrict the rights provided by this
- instrument or impede the lawful exercise thereof, and, more indirectly, the
- principle that the law of the land must not impair or be so applied as to
- impair the guarantees provided for in the Convention. (See, in particular,
197th Report, Case No. 913 (Sri Lanka), para. 323 and 211th Report, Cases Nos.
1035 and 1050 (India), para. 115.)
465. In the present case, the Committee considers that the authorities'
- refusal to recognise the NNTA on the pretext that the 1984 negotiations failed
- constitutes a violation of freedom of association and of free collective
- bargaining in that this refusal impairs the right of teachers wishing to
- belong to this association to join the trade union association of their choice
- for the defence of their economic, social and occupational interests and the
- right of the NNTA to promote and defend the occupational interests of its
- members.
466. As regards the dismissals and transfers of trade union activists and
- officers who maintained relations with the NNTA and took part in the strikes,
- the Committee notes that the Government acknowledges that it carried out
- dismissals, but explains that it pays teachers to teach and not to uphold
- their ideology in the schools.
467. First, the Committee has always considered that no one should suffer
- prejudice in his or her employment on the grounds of trade union membership
- and, more particularly, on the grounds of membership in the trade union of his
- or her choosing. In this case, the Committee considers that the anti-trade
- union dismissals and transfers affecting teachers who are members of the NNTA,
- who had participated in strike movements, constitute in themselves a violation
- of freedom of association.
468. Secondly, the Committee recalls that a strike is one of the essential
- means which workers, including those in education, should have in order to
- promote and defend their occupational interests.
469. While it welcomes the fact that some teachers have been reinstated in
- their posts, the Committee urges the Government to make every effort to obtain
- the reinstatement of all the teachers dismissed.
470. As regards the arrest and detention of trade union activists and
- officers, the Committee notes that the Government states that it has not
- detained any teacher within the last two years in connection with the
- teachers' movement or activities. It does, however, admit that teachers have
- been arrested, because they had committed offences against the State. It also
- affirms that, following the requests made by the Committee, it has released
- all of the teachers, including Mr. Debi Ojha, and that only Mr. Sushill
- Chandra Amatya and Mr. Sitaram Maskay are still being detained.
471. The Committee has, on several occasions, insisted on the importance
- which it attaches to the fact that, in every case, including those in which
- trade unionists are accused of political or criminal offences which the
- Government considers to be unrelated to their trade union activities, the
- persons in question be promptly tried by an impartial and independent judicial
- authority.
472. In this case, the Committee regrets that the Government has limited
- itself to stating in general terms that the officers of the NNTA are
  - well-known political activists, with an anti-Government attitude, who have
- pursued a policy of confrontation and provocation with respect to the
- Government, and to adding that only two of them are still being detained, not
- for trade union activities but for offences against the State, without
- specifying the specific acts on which such charges are based.
473. The Committee considers that the fact of having led strike movements in
- the education sector cannot, in itself, constitute a state offence. The
- Committee therefore trusts that the persons concerned will be released in the
- near future.
474. As regards the death of seven trade unionists alleged by the
- complainant, the Committee notes the Government's statement that it is unable
- to conduct an inquiry into this aspect of the case unless the NNTA specifies
- where and when these persons are alleged to have been killed. The Committee
- recalls that the detailed allegations of the complainant are contained in
- paragraph 353 of the 244th Report and paragraph 381 of the 251st Report of the
- Committee, approved by the Governing Body at its May 1986 and May 1987
- Sessions. The Committee again requests the Government to supply its
- observations on this aspect of the case.

The Committee's recommendations

475. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites
- the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
  - a) The Committee recalls the importance which it attaches to the principle
- that workers, including teachers, should be able to form trade unions of their
- own choosing, without previous authorisation, for the defence of their
- economic, social and occupational interests.
  - b) The Committee also recalls the importance of strikes as an essential
- means which workers, including teachers, should have for the defence of their
- occupational interests.
  - c) The Committee accordingly urges the Government to recognise the National
- Nepal Teachers' Association (NNTA) since the declaration of illegality
- concerning this association appears to be unfounded and it has been requesting
- registration since 1980.
  - d) The Committee requests the Government to ensure that all of the teachers
- who supported the setting up of the NNTA and took part in strikes in the
- education sector since 1980 be reinstated in their posts and to communicate
- detailed information on the manner in which it has carried out these
- reinstatements.
  - e) The Committee also requests the Government to ensure that all detained
- teachers are released or promptly tried by an independent judicial authority.
- It requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this
- connection.
  - f) The Committee lastly urges the Government promptly to supply its
- observations on the detailed allegations of the complainant contained in the
- WCOTP's communications of 5 July 1985 and 3 April 1987 concerning the death of
- seven trade unionists in the education sector.