2017-08-29 Citizens' Forum writes to Louvre Group

Editor's note: 

• Also see the earlier communication to Sarovar Hotels. A version was also send in hard copy. Some personal information removed from the letters.

• 2017-09-08: See the response here.

From: IITKCF

Date: 29 August 2017 at 06:04

Subject: An appeal to stop the mass layoff at Visitors' Hostel, IIT Kanpur

To: pfroulot@louvre-hotels.fr, pfroulot@louvre-hotels.com, benjamin.dornic@cn.lafarge.com, c.lemercier@gmail.com, contactclient@louvre-hotels.com, sauchaw@gmail.com

Cc: Several Sarovar Hotel functionaries, Several IITKCF Members. 

Louvre Hotels Group

Village 5, 50 Place de l'Ellipse, 92081 Nanterre, France

29th August, 2017

Mr. Pierre-Frédéric Roulot

Chairman and Ceo

Louvre Hotels Group

Dear Mr. Roulot,

We, the concerned alumni of Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK), would like to share with you the devastating news of a mass termination of workers’ employment at IITK campus soon to be concluded by your subsidiary Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, India.  

The Sarovar group has won a contract for the management of the Visitors’ Hostel (VH), which provides boarding and lodging facilities for the guests and visitors of IITK. The earlier practice for such contracts used to be the retention of all existing workers even after a change in management. But this time your subsidiary group refused to continue the practice and terminated the services of 72 out of 74 existing workers. On September 1st, 72 workers will become jobless. Considering the unemployment situation in India, these workers will most likely not be able to find similar jobs elsewhere. 

It will be a terrible blow to these workers, their families and the community in which they are living. Most of these workers have been serving the Institute very well for almost a decade and in few cases for almost two decades. Such a mass termination is bound to put enormous pressure on the morale of the whole IITK community.

Numerous times, these workers have received accolades for their hospitable and efficient services from among 25000+ alumni who sometimes meet for reunions or professional meetings when they stay at VH. Most non-alumni visitors from around the world have also had similar experiences. A sample of what people have said about VH can be read on the following link:https://tinyurl.com/y9yg3j5q

The process through which their employment was terminated is almost deplorable.  When they were interviewed, essentially they were asked only one question, ‘How much are they earning?’ And the response in each case was ‘minimum wage’. It should be noted that paying statutory minimum wage is a legal requirement as per Central Govt. of India directives. We are perplexed that they would be denied employment because they were earning a minimum wage and not less.

What does the new management wish to do? Do they want to pay less than the statutory minimum wages? Are there other conspicuous motives that are beyond our imagination? What would your subsidiary gain by replacing high-performing, experienced workers with new workers who have no exposure to the needs of VH guests?  We have heard that there are some shady contractors who sell jobs expecting a payment of approximately 50,000 INR to hire a prospective employee.  This short term approach to making quick money on the back of workers is reprehensible. We certainly hope that this is not the case of your subsidiary.

Mr. Roulot, we are confident that a similar situation in your motherland could not have been tolerated by your citizens who take such a pride in the lofty ideals of Liberté, égalité, fraternité. That it is being done in one of the most reputed institutes of learning in India should be a matter of great concern for citizens of both our countries, who would not like to see inhumane and unjust practices happening at the centers of national pride.

Moreover, we believe that the motto of your group, “Do, Dare, Dream”, should also extend to your subsidiaries and their operations. As your website states the following about the dream:

“The determination to go forward, to grow and to break free is always in the back of our minds, and it contains a touch of dream, not to say idealism, projecting us into the future and giving us a head start.”  

Will this dream of idealism projecting the group into the future not include fair practices with regard to hiring of workers? Should we also not be conscious of the dreams of workers and their families? Will the goal of your HR team claiming to rest on the pillar of‘fostering a culture of accountability’ be fulfilled when your subsidiaries are being held unaccountable by the majority of IITK community? Last week 1500 people marched against the unpopular decision and around 2000 people on the campus signed on a petition to cancel the new contract. In just a few days, more than 100 alumni have signed a petition to the Director of our alma-mater demanding the retention of all workers. The petition can be read here: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stop-the-planned-layoff-of-iit-kanpur-visitors

A reputable hotel group like yours would not like to see a negative image developing among the minds of alumni, faculty, students and workers of India’s premier educational and research institute.

We are writing to you with a request to investigate the issue of this contract and ensure that all present workers be hired for the new contract and that the management for this project will act professionally all the while respecting your corporate values.

In the interest of providing an excellent service to the guests at VH, and being consistent with your laudable ethical goals and dreams, we hope that you will do the needful in ensuring that these workers are retained so that they can continue to provide excellent services as they have been doing for the last 10-20 years. We certainly do not want them and their families’ lives being uprooted and we are convinced that you would want the same.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely yours,

On behalf of IITK alumni Citizens Forum

PS:  We are also maintaining updates on our website:https://iitkcf.appspot.com/dsogIR