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Nepali industry has not seen major strikes or lockouts in recent years, although such activities were the trademark of domestic industries some years ago.Both companies and trade unions agree that labour relations have improved remarkably over the last few years. Trade union maturity that has evolved lately, according to industrialists, has been one of the major reasons behind the improved labour relations.

"Trade unions have shown much maturity when it comes to labour issues in recent times," said Shekhar Golchha, newly elected senior vice-president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the largest umbrella organization representing the private sector .

As Nepali trade unions are highly politicised, the maturity shown by them is the result of the political transition that the country has gone through after the abolition of the monarchy and the restoration of democracy.

"Initially, during the time of political change, labour unions were highly motivated by political parties and their demands from industrialists were, at times, unreasonable," added Golchha. "But with the political leaders of major parties focusing on economic prosperity, trade unions too have been behaving more rationally lately."