Kuragraphy of Names and Naming Practices in Nepal

 Workers Harvesting Fruits and Employees Harvesting Time 

 *Kishor Subba Limbu

"OH, TIMRO KATI PLUS RAIXA?"
Just after I got my first month's salary slip, one of my brothers asked me:

Fieldwork-2021

"What is your plus hour?" I was really unaware of the plus or minus hours in the workplace. 
"What is the plus hour?" I asked him a follow-up question. 
"Oh, you new people don't know about it." Generally, when there is more work in the high season, we (workers) have to work longer hours, like 10 hours or more in a day. The standard working hour is 8 hours per day; if we have more overtime, the company will keep balanced hours for the low season because there would not be enough work for 8 hours per day at that time. He answered me.

It makes sense from one point of view: the company keeps balanced working hours in the high season, and those balance hours would be expended in the low season to maintain basic working hours. But I was not convinced with that; I don't know the real facts or the absolute reason why. But I have some disagreements with this time of harvesting.

Doing Kuragraphy with co-workers: Generally, they have the mindset of negotiating as if the company would always be right because they have the power (authority) to hire and fire workers. Whatever they agree or disagree with about the company (work and policies), most of the workers don't want to open their mouths against the company.

One Nepali worker, aged 48 and working for the company for 3 years, shared his voice: "AB YETRO THULO COMPANY LE GAREKO KURA THIKAI HOLA NI" (It is by the administration of such a big company, so it might be right; that's why they are doing it). Another Nepali worker, aged 38 and working for more than 5 years, shared, "YO THIK TA HOINA, TARA HAMILE VANERA K HUNXA RA. COMPANYLE CHAYO VANE TURUNTAO NIKALDINA SAKXA, ANI KO BOLNE?" (It may not be right, but we can't raise our voice against the company because the company has power and can hire and fire us; then who would speak about it?)

I discovered that the workers have a 25-to-60-hour seasonal balance.That would be used during the low season when there are few jobs, such as 4-5 hours per day.On the one hand, it is good to have a base salary even in the low season by working 4–5 hours. But some of the workers have different accounts about this. According to one Bangladeshi worker aged 35 who has worked more than 5 years for the company, he shared his view: "YEIH ACHHA HOTA AGAR COMPANY HUM KO SEASON MEIN OVERTIME PAY KARE, AUR LOW SEASON MAIN JITNA KAM HUWA UTNA HI PAY KARE, KIUN KI JO HAM PICK SEASON MEIN KARTE HEIN "YEIH OVERTIME HAIN AUP OVERTIME KI PAY RATE BASE SE JYADA HOTA HEIN" (It would be better if the company would pay for our overtime in the high season and pay according to working hours in the low season because the paid value for the overtime would be higher (1.5) than the base hours pay value.

While doing Kuragraphy with the workers from the other companies,

"Does your company harvest during the high season?" Most of the workers shared their experiences: 
"Yes, they do." 
Then I tried to figure out why this used to happen. and why the workers are not making a voice against the company if they have a disagreement with the company's policy? 

According to the Employment Law Overview Portugal 2021-2022, "The maximum weekly and daily working periods are set at 40 and 8 hours, respectively." More than 8 hours of work in a day and more than 40 working hours in a week would be counted as overtime. The law talks about "overtime work being paid at the normal hourly rate plus: 25% for the first hour or part thereof, plus 37.5% for every subsequent hour or part thereof, on working days; 50% for the first hour or part thereof, on weekly rest, compulsory or complimentary, or on bank holidays." But the law has imagined something about the "bank hour," the "so-called hour bank." In this case, extra working hours may be required, which may be compensated by monetary compensation, an increase in vacation time, or a reduction in hours worked on other days. That would be the opportunity for employees to harvest time.  

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I am not familiar with Portuguese labour law and labour activism, discourse, and the like. But my experience as a core labourer in agricultural farms and doing hard physical labour in the field for more than 8 hours is driving me insane; is it fair game?One can imagine how the body would be after working 8 hours of hard physical farm work, then having to maintain the physical and mental condition to carry forward the same hard work for 2 to 4 hours more, which is harvesting by the company in the so-called "bank hours." I strongly disagree and am disappointed with bank hours, which imply that employees are harvesting time to save their surplus paid value (+25% to 50%) in the base value for overtime.

Do you think that the bank hours are fair to the physical workers and their overtime?