The Labor Act and the Children s Act are rife with vague, inadequate, and inconsistent language, which compounds the problem of non-enforcement. Kathmandu and other cities have hundreds of street children working as ragpickers or in other informal jobs. Child marriage continues despite being outlawed. Bonded labor also exists in agriculture and in manufacturing in the Kathmandu Valley. Laborers are often bought and sold, and debts are passed on to children.
Activists allege that numerous politicians in western districts hold bonded laborers.
Trade unions are independent but are politicized and often militant. More than 80 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, and 45 percent live in absolute poverty.