Akbarallys Shut Down

It’s appalling to see the treatment bestowed upon employees of big establishments here in Mumbai. Imagine you are on your way to work one morning; just to find out that your sole means of ‘bread and butter’ is snatched away from you…forever…. Extinct overnight!!

No intimation given, no prior warning….NO JOB anymore…What a shock!

This is the story that Akbarallys-Santacruz (Mumbai), has to tell. On Friday the 10th of February, the store all of a sudden decided to fasten its doors to the world.

For over a month, 40-permanent workers have been squatting outside the estranged shop. Unable to get over the untimely death of their second home; where they have spent over 30 years of their lives. Struggling day in and day out, to obtain some kind of justice.

A good friend of mine walks past Akbarallys, (a brand that was created 108 years ago) on a daily basis. For the past one month she has been narrating various incidents regarding its employee’s demands for justice. So today I decided to leave work a little early, and see it for myself.

Driving over in my A/C car I casually thought over a few questions to ask, but at that point didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. I wasn’t even sure, if I wanted to write a post on this.

As soon as I parked my car, workers assuming I have come to shop, yelled “dukhan bandh ho gaya hai, do mahena ho gaya.” I got down and into the premises, as usual had to explain my self and my purpose. To which, for obvious reasons I had umpteen volunteers, ready to open their hearts out….and so here it goes.

Mr. Francis Fernandezis a senior staff member working at Akbarallys-Santacruz for over 20 years. He is one of the main persons heading the fight against unfair dismissal. This is what he had to say.

What happened on Friday the 10th of February?

On the 10th of February, we all came into work like any other day. Closed shutters greeted us on arrival. A notice was pasted, stating that the store is undergoing huge losses. Competition from newly opened malls in bandra and other suburbs have led the management to permanently seal this branch.

They had a pay pack ready (service, gratuity, etc.) consisting of a mere amount of Rs. 15,000 for all the workers, which none of us accepted. All of us were in a state of shock; we approached the Mumbai-Kamghar Sabha. The main head was out of town, and to arrive in three days.

Without wasting any time we marched to the police station to register a complaint of ‘illegal shop closure’. But to our dismay, the owners were already present there. They had intimated the police regarding their actions, I think a prior preparation.

Our next plan of action was to approach NCP leader Mr. Ibrahim Sheikh. He called the ACP and senior inspector, who in turn called the cops, thereby taking permission on behalf of the workers to continue sitting outside the main entrance. This time we lodged an official police complaint. And that’s how the protest started off.

How did you go about the legal proceedings?

Until Sunday we continued sitting outside the store. On Monday we met up with the Union leader along with one of the senior-most employees of Akbarallys-fountain branch. After explaining the entire situation we approached a lawyer and instantly started the paper work. We sent a notice to the management and its lawyers. All the papers were submitted in court the following Wednesday.

The judge read out a verbal agreement, that until the matter is resolved between the workers and management, the management had no authority to open or enter the store for what-so-ever reasons.

Did the management keep up to the verbal agreement?

“Nahi”, as a matter of fact, not once but twice the management tried to remove goods and other papers from the store.

First time was within a couple of days, of the court hearing. People from the management side on the pretence of removing ATM cards and money that was stuck in the ATM, (Akbarallys houses an Oriental bank ATM machine within its premises) removed various gift vouchers and the system server. When I intervened, I was shrugged off saying that only a verbal agreement had been issued. They had a police constable along. We immediately filed a complaint with the police station and also informed the judge about it. The judge issued a final verbal warning.

The second time around, at 1:30 in the morning, President Sherebanu Khorakiwalla arrived with three tempos and twenty-five men. They rolled up the shutters, loaded furniture and other goods from the store. We have stationed two workers for the night to keep an eye on the store. They intervened but all in vain. The men loaded 40 cartons containing Cds, saris, woolen garments into the tempos. Again we were reminded that the agreement is only verbal, there is no stay order. Since I live in Malad I couldn’t come at that time of the night.

What was your next step?

Next morning we again met the lawyer, Union head and NCP leader. Lodged another complaint. Sent one more legal notice to the management and its lawyer. A court hearing came up in a couple of days, this time the judge issued a stay order stating that the store would not be opened till the 27th of March. By that time the management should reach a decision and clear its workers dues.

The management argued their need to return the goods to their respective suppliers. We in turn argued that it was the management’s fault. They shut down the shop overnight, hence they must suffer. We were not going to allow them to open the store until our demands were met. Therefore god-willing by 27th of March, the matter should be cleared.

What are the workers demands and what’s the management’s response?

The workers each want one lakh fifty thousand rupees as compensation. Talks regarding this are on-going with the management and they have offered a sum of fifty thousand rupees. Fifty thousand is not feasible!

The property is worth over 35 crores but still they hesitate in giving us 1.5 lakhs which is nothing and rightly deserved by us. Management is only interested in enjoying all the benefits without caring about anyone else.

All we forty people have been working for minimum 15 years. Some of us have worked for 35 years. We have spent most of our lives in this store and at this age its difficult hunting for another job. We have little qualification hence our task is strenuous.

Whiles interviewing for a new job, the first questioned asked is regarding the previous job. Akbarallys would only give us a bad name; since employers would blame us for the shops failure. “Ek bura thappa mathe pe lag gaya hai.”

We even demanded a service balance, but the lawyers refused. They said that since the shop has closed down, it won’t be possible. Only a lump some amount will be given to each employee…so we asked for 1.5 lakhs.

Did u have the slightest of indication that the store would suddenly close down for good?

Nothing what-so-ever! However three years ago, due to family disputes, the brothers parted ways hence there came about a change in the management. The new owners started buying less stock because they were facing a financial crisis. But we never expected the store to close down one fine morning.

Do you now think the closure was always their intention?

Can’t say for sure but there have been rumors that the property is already sold. Some say a famous cricketer has bought it over, some say a known fast food joint might open up. But we don’t know for sure. Plus in court, the management says that the property is not sold. One thing is certain; Akbarallys-santacruz will never reopen.

How long do you people intend to keep up with this protest?

Do we have a choice? Our lives are disrupted, can’t think of anything else. We must keep up with this daily attendance thereby lending strength and courage to other staff members. We will not take this lying down…will fight for our rights.

I am 46 years old, where will I get another job? This money is all that I have to bank on until I get another job. Practically my lifetime’s hard work. I know I will have to work to make ends meet, once this issue is sorted out.

It’s a humungous injustice to us, our families and our future lives.

If only we were consulted, we could have worked something out. If necessary we would have put in extra hours to bring up the sales. They can’t just kick us out of here, it’s unfair!

Some kind of settlement could have been reached upon…at least we would leave this place on a happy note. Is it fair for us to keep fighting this way? All day we are running to courts, union offices, spending time just sitting around the store doing nothing.

Well this is their plight….40 human-beings unnecessarily battling for NO fault of theirs. Commuting over long distances, these people sit around sealed shutters whiling away their time. Men playing cards, women knitting, the group discussing strategies to obtain justice, workers explaining their plight to ardent customers, is all they keep doing the entire day. Lunch too is out in the scorching heat followed by a short nap within the dirty premises.

It’s a shame…lives getting wasted, time and energy flowing over justice that may not be achieved. A daily struggle for their salary, gratuity and other legal dues. Most of them clueless about what the future holds.

Main stream media has hardly covered this issue. Initially there were a couple of articles in the newspapers. But beyond that no one has bothered to follow up and further highlight the present scenario.

I urge all my readers to encourage the poor workers cause. Kindly give your encouraging comments, link to the post, or if possible pass on the link to your MSM contact. I have promised these guys that I shall give them a print out of the post along with reader’s feedback. So please help out, it might just help bring some smile on their faces.

(Cross posted on Metroblogging Mumbai)

*Picture no. 2 - Mohamed Elyas (left), Harichandra Gurav, Francis Fernandez, Ebrahim Singh.

Update on the Akbarallys-Santacruz workers dispute.

But before I start, I would like to thank each and every reader for their valuable comment(s). The response has been overwhelming. I hope at the end, this awareness does make a huge difference to the lives of the patient workers.

Day before one of the lady employees called in, generally inquiring about the post and its responses. She was also wondering if any newspaper agency had taken interest in printing their cause. The eagerness in her voice could not be missed.

I was pleased to inform her of the great acknowledgment from our blog world, but beyond that there was no concrete help I had to offer. Somehow I feel I have let them down…if only something more would come out of this virtual publicity. I hung up promising to drop by later with the post printouts.

At 5:30 in the evening I was there once again sitting amongst the workers. All searching for some glimmer of hope; seeing and reading the posts with its various comments.

Unfortunately the court hearing only brought about an extension to the case. Another hearing is to take place on the 19th of April. The management asked for more time to settle matters, preferring an out-of-court settlement. They are still stuck on the 50,000 amount, not willing to consider the workers demands.

One worker further said “Knowing our judicial system, we expect something similar on the 19th too. God only knows when our misery will come to an end.”

The management is unnecessarily prolonging the settlement; the delay is costing the workers, their valuable time and energy. Hence they are going to appeal for a two months (or further) salary. An attendance record has been maintained from the 10th of February.

Each and every one of them thanked me profusely for my efforts. Appreciation glittered in their eyes.

It deeply hurts to see their state….committed workers with family and children, now on the streets….battling their cause day-in and day-out. No one to hold their hand!

What hurts more is to read comments suggesting, that workers should go out looking for another job rather than fighting for their rights. How can one close his/her eyes to a brutal reality? Theirs is no more young blood, getting over and moving on after a chapter like this is not easy.

It’s even more pathetic to see media giving importance to an actor’s new born baby but updating on pressing issues is of no concern to them.

We don’t need strong movies (Rang de basanti) and documentaries to inspire our younger generation, these people and their lives are more than enough. They stand united, fighting for what they deserve….one fine day…the world WILL listen!

Update on the Akbarallys-Santacruz workers dispute - Final Verdict Reached.

Guess this will be the last and final update on my Akbarallys-Santacruz post. Hopefully if and when another one comes up, I hope its better news than this time.

My friend, who passes the shut store on a daily basis, saw it open the other day. She approached the workers sitting outside and learnt that a settlement has been reached upon. She immediately called and informed me about the recent matter.

The management finally decided upon a settlement. They are willing to give every worker a sum of seventy thousand rupees, they had initially decided on fifty thousand. They have come up by just twenty thousand rupees, where as the workers demand was one lakh-fifty thousand rupees.

The owner opens the store on a daily basis since the past few days. Goods from the warehouse get loaded into the shop and it is then handed over to its respective manufacturers.

Workers still sit outside the store everyday and will continue to do so until they acquire their well deserved dues.

They all seemed disappointed and tired…tired of their daily struggle and harassment. One of them mentioned “Even though we are not satisfied, if one agrees, others don’t have much choice but to agree with the given settlement. There isn’t much that can be done. Wasting anymore time doesn’t make sense.”

Hope things had ended on a better note than the current situation.

As usual the system favored the powerful and influential, whereas the rest can just go to hell! Anyways I wish the workers all the very best in the future.

Please give your comments/feedback, here.