Employees of Gitanjali Gems Ltd protest outside the factory at Marol in Andheri on Friday. (Amit Chakravarty)
More than 500 workers at Gili India factories in Marol Co-Operative Industrial Estate of Andheri East had a standoff with the management on Friday after they where allegedly asked to resign on Thursday. The workers are exploring legal options to challenge the decision of the company.
The work at the factories has come to standstill since the 11,400 crore Punjab National Bank scam, allegedly involving the owner billionaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.
Sushant Salunkhe (33), who has been working in the wax department at the factories that manufacture jewellery for the Gili and Nakshatra diamond jewellery brands, said he and his colleagues had noticed that something was amiss over the past week as expensive machines were being taken out of the premises.
“We did not know what was happening and no one from the management explained anything to us,” he said.
However, it was only on Monday, when the Enforcement Directorate seized jewellery manufactured at the factories that the workers connected the movement with the ongoing investigations into bank fraud. “Until then, we did not know Modi was the head of the company,” said Namrata Gholekar (33), who also works in the wax department.
She added that production had come to a standstill since Monday and but the employees have been reporting for work every day. “I have been tense since Thursday. I didn’t tell family that I have been asked to quit my job,” said Gholekar, who has been working at the factory for close to 15 years.
Gholekar added that the management had ordered workers to fill forms and claim their provident fund and exit the company. “They said that we will not be paid salary this month. No one is saying whether we will get our bonus and gratuity. We have refused to resign,” she said. “All of us have homes to run. The management has to give us some money,” said Gholekar, who earns Rs 10,000 a month. She added that she was looking for work in other sectors. “I can’t sit at home without work forever,” she said.
While Gholekar’s husband has a job, she said that several of her colleagues, who have been employed at the factories for two decades, are not so lucky. Her colleague Salunkhe accused the senior management of resigning at the first sign of trouble and abandoning the workers.
“They knew what was happening in the company and told us nothing. We have worked sincerely for the company all these years,” he said. Salunkhe, who lives in Nallasopara, and is the only earning member of his family, said that he would struggle to pay rent in two weeks’ time. “I have a son and daughter in school. If I don’t pay rent on time, the landlord will ask us to leave,” he said.
Salunkhe added that he would write to the state government and the Prime Minister. “We will fight for justice. We want what is rightfully ours,” he said. In spite of their refusal to leave their jobs, the workers fear they will be helpless as the owners of the premises where the factories are located have issued notices to vacate. Notices from S S Engineering Works and Rajindra Industries, which own the plots, have ordered Gili India Ltd. to pay license fees which are due from January 2017 at the earliest, or vacate the premises. “There is no senior management left here who will pay the rent,” said Salunkhe.
srinath.rao@expressindia.com
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