ILO Warns Nepal Floods Threaten Jobs and Livelihoods
Damage to transport, trade and infrastructure could deepen employment losses beyond flood-hit communities, ILO says.
By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – International Labour Organization on Thursday said in a preliminary assessment released that the deadly flash floods in northern Nepal have severely disrupted employment and livelihoods, with wider impacts beyond communities that were directly affected,.
Numan Özcan, ILO Country Director for Nepal said that “The employment consequences of this disaster will not stop at the edge of the flooded area.”
“Damage to transport links, electricity infrastructure and trade routes can carry the shock through supply,” he added.
UN agency said the catastrophic flooding in late August triggered by a glacier collapse on the border with China – destroyed homes, workplaces, roads, bridges and energy infrastructure.
Over 1,450 people were killed and 5,786 are still missing, according to the authorities.
The ILO estimated that some 21,400 employed people live within 4Kms of the “flood footprint”, and the disaster has disrupted economic activity and blocked workers from reaching jobs, markets and essential services.
People working in tourism, agriculture and transport and those employed by small businesses are particularly facing significant pressure.
They include guides, porters and transport operators as well as hotel, restaurant and agricultural workers. These employees may face reduced earnings, interrupted work, difficulty accessing customers, needed inputs and markets.
The ILO explained that Nepal has a high level of informal employment, meaning that many workers have limited income and social protection.
Daily-wage, casual and informal workers and those who are self-employed or who have micro- and home-based business are at heightened risk.
“Women workers may face the combined effects of lost paid work and increased unpaid care responsibilities,” the assessment said.
It warned that “severe household income losses may also increase the risk of child labor as a negative coping strategy.”
The brief also examined disruption to the Nepal-China trade corridor, which could also affect companies and workers far beyond the flood-affected districts.
Rasuwa and Tatopani accounted for some 22 per cent of Nepal’s imports from China over the past year. The floods severely damaged critical transport infrastructure in Rasuwa, responsible for half of exports to China.
The disruptions “could therefore affect not only transport and border-related employment, but also workers and enterprises involved in wholesale and retail trade, construction, manufacturing, agricultural processing and other activities linked to imported inputs and export markets”.
The ILO assessment stressed that recovery and reconstruction can help protect livelihoods while creating decent employment.
It concluded with recommended next steps, including immediate income support for households and businesses, “employment-intensive reconstruction” and job matching and skills development.
