ILO Nepal

As per ILO regional report, women in Nepal carried out 85 per cent of daily unpaid care work, spending a total of 29 million hours a day to 5 million hours spent by men. The amount of time Nepali women spend on unpaid care work is six times higher than that of men. The National Planning Commission (NPC) of Nepal, with technical support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UN Women, commissioned a report titled Public Investments in Nepal’s Care Economy, An Estimation of Care Deficit, Investment Costs and Economic Returns in the Education and Health Sectors (2024). The study highlights that an investment of US$ 2 billion to address care coverage gaps in Nepal’s education and health sectors could generate approximately 1,386,000 jobs (both direct and indirect), with at least 60% of these jobs expected to be filled by women. Such an investment would not only strengthen aggregate demand across the economy but also enhance long-term societal well-being, gender equality, and inclusive economic growth. Recognizing both the challenges and the transformative potential of the care economy, the Government of Nepal is working towards developing a care policy that strengthens care economy and safeguard the rights of care workers. Led by the NPC, a care working group has been established, comprising representatives from multiple stakeholders. Building on existing evidence, the ILO, continues to promote the care economy as a critical component of its transformative agenda for gender equality and the protection of labour rights. Specifically, the ILO supports to: - Increase the capacity of constituents to design, promote, and implement transformative care policies and programmatic investments. - Assess and improve the working conditions and representation of care workers - Support the government and social partners in defining policies and investments to create jobs in the care sector and improve social dialogue and representatiion.

The Government of Nepal became a Pathfinder Country in 2018 and implemented a number of measures stipulated in the Second National Master Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour (2028–2028), submitting its progress report on time to the Alliance 8.7 Global Coordinating Group. In 2024, through the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS), the Government of Nepal endorsed a revised list of hazardous occupations for child labour, aligning with international labour standards. The updated list identifies brick production, the adult entertainment industry, domestic work for children, and debt bondage as hazardous sectors for children under the age of 18. In 2025, a study on Decent Work Deficits in the Adult Entertainment Sector in Nepal was conducted, and its dissemination is planned for 2026. The ILO collaborated with two municipalities to declare them child labour-free and worked closely with the National Child Rights Council (NCRC), the government body responsible for child rights and protection, to support the effective implementation of the National Plan of Action on the Elimination of Child Labour in Nepal. The ILO will continue to support its constituents in Nepal by: Supporting the implementation of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour, including the promotion of child labour-free municipalities. -Assisting the National Statistics Office in incorporating a child labour module into the National Labour Force Survey, which is currently underway. -Providing recommendations and guidance to address decent work deficits in the adult entertainment sector in Nepal. -Validating a legal gap analysis of the Convention C189 and prepare an action plan to advance decent work for domestic workers.

Nepal has ratified 11 International Labour Conventions, including, seven fundamental, one governance and three technical conventions. In 2024, the Ministry of Labour, Employment, and Social Security (MoLESS), formed a Tripartite plus Stakeholders International Labour Standard (ILS) Committee. This committee developed and approved a work plan in 2024 to prioritize the ratification of nine ILO standards by 2026, including: C081 (labour inspection), C087 (Freedom of Association), P029 (Forced Labour Protocol) , C190 (Violence and Harassment), C189 (Domestic Workers), C155 (Occupational Safety and Health), C187 (Promotional Framework for Occupational and Health), C177 (Home Work), and C181 (Private Employment Agencies). In 2025, Convention No. 81 (Labour Inspection Convention, 1947) and the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (P029) were submitted to the Cabinet for ratification. According to the Ministry of Labour, with regards to the ratification of Convention No. 87 has been circulated to the concerned ministries for their review and consent. For Convention No. 155 and Convention No. 187, a study task force has been established to conduct a detailed analysis related to ratification. Gap analyses between national legislation and the requirements of Convention No. 190 and Convention No. 189 are currently underway with technical assistance from the ILO. To support ILO constituents in their efforts towards the ratification and effective application of ILS, the ILO’s support in 2026–2027 includes: • Expert inputs for legal gap analyses of Conventions Nos. 190 and 189. • Organization of consultative meetings on the ratification of selected Conventions. As a member of the ILO, Nepal submits regular reports on ratified and fundamental international labour standards. In this biennium, Nepal is required to report on Conventions Nos. 111 and 100 in 2025.

Through this Country Programme Outcome, the ILO will strengthen the capacity of workers’ organisations in Nepal to engage in effective, evidence-based social dialogue, with a focus on promoting an adequate and fair wage system. Building on the 2025 trainings on formalization and ToT for sanitation and domestic workers, unions will be supported to develop their own wage negotiation modules, integrating macroeconomic and wage literacy. The programme will promote the modernization and digitalization of trade union operations through the use of digital tools and applications for training and wage analysis. This approach will enhance outreach, improve coordination, and attract greater engagement of youth and women leaders. Through these efforts, the ILO will contribute to stronger collective bargaining and more inclusive wage-setting mechanisms in Nepal. In line with the Constitution of Nepal 2015, the Labour Act 2017 and Decent Work Country Programme 2023-27, the ILO develops a comprehensive programme to support workers' organizations in strengthening institutional, technical and representational capacities to enable them to defend their rights and to influence policy at all levels of government. Given the new federal structure of Nepal, and the enactment of the two key legislations on labour rights and social security in 2017, it has become imperative for trade unions to expand their membership coverage at provincial and local levels in diverse sectors in line with the new governance system. The strategy focuses on enhancing technical capacity to engage with workers in the informal sector where majority of workers especially women workers are engaged. It also focuses on developing technical capacity of workers' organizations at the provincial level for effective social dialogue. This initiative benefits the workers' organizations in reducing industrial conflicts and unfair labour practices and promote decent jobs for all.

The Government of Nepal (GoN) through the commitments made by the constitution, the 16th Plan and other policy frameworks is keen to promote decent jobs primarily within the country. Number of initiatives have been taken by government to improve and strengthen governance frameworks to ensure decent employment generation, formalization of informal sectors and creating conducive industrial environment. Inclusive employment, sustainable enterprises and livelihoods, adequate and balanced wages and social security are crucial as Nepal transitions to a middle-income country and endeavours to overcome the negative economic legacy of COVID-19 on Nepali households, especially those most marginalised. Nepal became a pathfinder country for the implementation of Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transition and is also preparing for the graduation from least developed country. The country has also made a strong commitment on climate actions and associated transitions to reach at net zero carbon emissions. These transitions will bring different impacts in labour market, possess both positive and negative impacts on jobs and expansion of social protection. To understand impacts of these transitions in labour market and in jobs and social protection related issues and support the country to develop data driven and evidence-based policy and programme formulation, there is a growing need for relevant statistics, research and analysis. Therefore, to support policy makers and social partners with relevant data and research, this output will have key interventions as of below. - Provide technical assistance in designing and carrying out national labour force survey - Technical assistance and support in conducting recruitment cost survey of Nepali migrant workers - Macroeconomic analysis and analysis of coverage, adequacy and costing of social security protection - Green employment diagnostic

The economic growth in Nepal has not translated systematically into reducing geographical inequalities particularly between rural and urban areas and consequently affected availability and quality of jobs and livelihoods in the rural areas. Beside urban/rural, the availability and accessibility of decent jobs and livelihood opportunities for disadvantaged communities such as women, youth, marginalized castes, ethnic minorities, refugees, and person with disabilities is even scarce. Therefore, policies and programmes promoting gender equality and socially inclusive economic opportunities primarily in rural areas, including green jobs and a just transition in key sectors, will continue to be critical to ensure that Nepal’s desired economic transformation is just. Given the current structure of Nepal’s economy, the rural/urban and provincial disparities in the distribution of economic development and poverty as well as the country’s comparative advantages, ILO assistance under this output will continue to support development of policies and programmes that contribute to increased economic opportunities in rural areas, are gender-responsive, and socially inclusive towards promoting social justice. Considering these contexts, ILO Nepal will be focusing its interventions under this output as of below: - Surveys, assessments, and other research identifying labour market trends, including the extent of discrimination and exclusion in the labour market focusing in rural areas - Assistance in development of National Employment Policy and other related policy documents and action plans with due attention on the contexts of rural areas with focused strategies - Employment intensive and gender-responsive rural development policies and programmes focusing on value added agricultural development and climate resilient infrastructure and green works - Innovative local economic development intervention strategies to support the labour market inclusion of excluded groups