An open letter by IITK community members

(An open letter by IITK community members.)

Dear members of IITK community,

This is to share with you our concern regarding loss of employment by 16 workers of Visitors’ Hostel (VH) on 1st April 2010. Here are the facts as we have got to know from the concerned workers:

1. The VH is run by an overall manager and three assistant caretakers – one each for housekeeping, front desk, and dining hall. There is a crew of 56 contract workers under them. The whole setup has to report to a VH committee. The contract was with M/s Vihar Aahar. Vihar Aahaar’s term expired on 31st March and M/s N Kumar (who has the Hall VII Mess Contract) took over. All the employees worked till 31st March and only in the evening of that day, 16 of them were informed that their services were terminated with immediate effect. They were not given any prior notice and they really did not have any idea that they would be sacked

2. Seven of the 16 have worked for more than seven years in the VH including one who has worked for 14 years.

3. All the workers were interviewed by the new contractor on 28th March. Surprisingly the workers/employees were not asked anything about their jobs, experience, or any other questions relating to their work; most interviews lasted for less than a minute. Then the contractor issued a list of employees who would work for the new term. But that list was modified several times, and several people whose names appeared in the initial list were struck off subsequently.

3. The 16 individuals represent all kind of work – from trained qualified supervisors, to room boys, to sanitation workers. There does not seem to be any logic for the selection/elimination.  The remaining 40 employees are in a state of extreme uncertainty given the arbitrary nature of their colleagues’ dismissal.

4. The earlier contractor Vihar Aahar would pay salaries one to two months late. Whenever anybody complained about this to the caretakers or the manager they were told that ‘to pay salary was the responsibility of the contractor, and they (the permanent staff) were there merely to get the work done. So they should take up issues regarding salaries with the contractor and come to them only regarding work’.  All the directions and commands were given directly to the employees by the permanent staff without any intermediary role of the contractor.

5. The employees’ PF has been deducted since April 2008, but till date they have not been given any receipt or proof for these deductions. They had tried to check the status of their funds from several officials but were never given any concrete answer; they still have no information regarding their PF contribution.

Our Concerns:

From all available accounts the VH was run efficiently by the present crew. It is relevant to note that this being the Golden Jubilee year of the Institute, the VH has been entertaining a plethora of guests of international eminence. These 16 employees along with their other 40 colleagues seem to have handled this crucial period effectively. Given the above, how could workers who have served for so long in the VH be removed in such a cavalier manner - without any notice and without any apparent reason? We as concerned members of the community seek answers from the Institute administration. We demand that the administration honours the sincere services of these employees for long years and reinstate them with immediate effect. We also request the rest of the community to join in these efforts.

Thank you,

Concerned community members:

(eighty six signatures follow)