Kathmandu — Employees of the Nepal Insurance Authority have gone on strike starting Tuesday, Poush 1, pressing seven key demands related to service conditions, organizational restructuring, and institutional reform. The protest has been organized jointly by the Nepal Insurance Authority Employees’ Association and the Nepal Insurance Authority Employees’ Union.

The employee bodies said they had repeatedly raised their demands with the Authority’s chairperson through both written and verbal communication. However, alleging continued neglect by the chairperson of the Board of Directors, the employees were compelled to launch the protest, according to Union President Premhari Pokharel.

On Tuesday, Union President Pokharel and Association President Dipak Gyawali formally informed the chairperson in writing about the commencement of the agitation. As part of the first phase of protest, employees plan to continue working while wearing black armbands for the next four days. If the demands remain unaddressed, they will put up black banners within the office premises and review the situation to decide further protest programs.

The employees said they had initially submitted a formal letter outlining their demands on Mangsir 1, granting the Authority 21 days to respond. After receiving no response by Mangsir 21, they issued a seven-day ultimatum. The failure to address the demands even after the ultimatum prompted the employees to escalate the protest.

The Nepal Insurance Authority is currently headed by Janak Raj Sharma, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance. The ongoing protest is expected to disrupt the Authority’s regular operations.

Seven key demands

Among the seven demands, employees have called for the immediate implementation of the report approved by the Board of Directors on Jestha 12 and 16, which includes revised service facilities and a new organizational structure with additional positions. They have insisted that any recruitment process should proceed only after the implementation of the approved report.

The employees have also demanded amendments to the employee regulations, arguing that the insurance sector is highly technical and that open competition for senior positions may not yield suitably skilled personnel. They have called for internal competition and performance-based promotion for the post of Deputy Director.

Another key demand is the clear classification of technical and administrative groups within the employee regulations to prevent future disputes, along with the establishment of transparent policies for provincial transfers and geographical scoring.

Further demands include ensuring employee representation in decision-making processes related to training, nominations, transfers, grievance handling, and workplace environment improvements through a recommendation committee. The employees have also called for the introduction of a maximum service tenure cap for director-level positions, the immediate implementation of a succession plan, and institutional restructuring through internationally recognized organizations to strengthen the Authority’s governance and development.

The employee unions have warned that failure to address their demands would lead to further intensification of the protest in the coming days.