Firms on public contracts must enrol workers in Social Security Fund or lose tender access

The Government of Nepal has approved the “Procedure on Wages and Social Security of Workers Engaged in Public Procurement, 2083”, which makes enrolment in the Social Security Fund a condition for any contractor, supplier or consultant that wants to bid for public contracts. Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobita Gautam set out the procedure on 8 November (22 Kartik 2083 BS), according to a report by the state news agency RSS carried by Nagarik daily and by the news site Beemapost.

The procedure covers construction firms, labour suppliers, industries and factories, consultants and other service providers taking part in public procurement. It applies not only to permanent staff but to part-time, daily-wage, temporary, seasonal and short-term workers, who are covered from their first day of work. Published reports do not say when, or by which Cabinet decision, it was approved.

Social security as a condition of bidding

Employers must enrol all their workers in the Social Security Fund, the contribution-based scheme run under the Contribution-based Social Security Act, and pay contributions regularly. An employer that has not done so may not take part in public procurement until it produces proof that every worker is enrolled.

In construction and consultancy contracts the 20 per cent contribution is split equally: the government pays 10 per cent and the employer 10 per cent. On a daily wage of Rs 2,000, for example, a further Rs 400 is credited to the worker’s fund account. New cost estimates will include an additional 10 per cent for social security. For industries, factories, vendors and producers, the 20 per cent contribution is included within the total wage.

Minimum pay

• Construction and field work (five grades): a total of Rs 1,740 to Rs 2,400 a day, including social security contributions.
• Professional and consultancy services (six grades): from Rs 54,600 a month for basic administrative staff to Rs 262,080 for team leaders with more than 15 years’ experience.
• Industries, factories, vendors and producers (five grades): Rs 32,607 to Rs 45,844 a month, plus festival allowance, leave and other benefits due under existing law.

Payment, complaints and sanctions

Wages must be paid directly into each worker’s own bank account. Intermediaries may not charge commission or job fees or hold back pay. Where non-payment is proved, the government may deduct the amount from what it owes the contractor and pay the worker directly. Safety equipment, drinking water, toilets and first aid are mandatory at work sites.

Workers may complain orally, in writing or electronically. The employer has seven days to resolve a complaint; after that the worker can go to the local Employment, Skills and Entrepreneurship Centre or Labour Welfare Unit, which must notify the other side within three days and seek a settlement within 15 days. Unresolved cases go to the labour office or the relevant investigating body. Complainants’ identities are to be kept confidential, and dismissal or wage deductions in retaliation are prohibited.

• First breach of wage, social security or other worker-rights rules: a “red card” and an order to correct the problem within 30 days at most.
• Repeat breach while a red card is active: a recommendation to blacklist the firm for at least one year.
• Forcing workers to hand back wages paid into their accounts: blacklisting for the maximum period on the first offence, and recovery of the money.
• Wages unpaid for more than three months, foreign workers without labour permits, or serious safety lapses: bill payments withheld until the problem is fixed.

According to Nagarik, the affected party will be given a chance to defend itself before any action is taken.

Background

Unions have long complained that public bodies cite the Public Procurement Act to issue labour-supply tenders below the statutory minimum wage. An Onlinekhabar report in August 2025 (Bhadau 2082) said that only about 45,000 of more than 70,000 workers in the security and outsourcing sector were enrolled in the Social Security Fund. The new procedure ties enrolment to eligibility for public contracts. Its effective date and the detailed responsibilities of monitoring bodies have not yet been published.

Sources

The official text of the procedure could not be found on a government website; this report relies on news coverage. One outlet attributes the procedure to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development; others say only “the government”. The article will be updated when the official text is available.

Other reporting

• Procedure on workers’ wages and social security approved (in Nepali) — Nagarik / RSS, 8 Nov 2026
• Workers in public procurement must be enrolled in the Social Security Fund (in Nepali) — Kantipur, 8 Nov 2026
• Minimum wage and social security for workers on government contracts (in Nepali) — Beemapost, 8 Nov 2026
• Workers in public procurement now mandatorily in the Social Security Fund (in Nepali) — Galaxy Khabar, 8 Nov 2026
• New procedure approved for workers in public procurement (in Nepali) — Kanun Khabar, 9 Nov 2026
• 70,000 workers in security and outsourcing; challenges in implementing benefits (in Nepali) — Onlinekhabar, 30 Aug 2025