Mall employees stage protest in Kharadi demanding “equal right to work”

PUNE Hundreds of staffers and employees from seven malls in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad protested outside the Amanora Mall and Seasons Mall in Kharadi on Friday

PUNE Hundreds of staffers and employees from seven malls in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad protested outside the Amanora Mall and Seasons Mall in Kharadi on Friday.

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The protesting workers, staffers and even owners of retail shops have urged the state government to give them “equal right to work”.

There are approximately 76,000 people working in Pune malls including external agency staff.

According to SCAI (Shopping Centres Association Of India) Covid restrictions have resulted into losses of Rs15,000 crore for the industry.

Nearly 80 per cent of employees working at retail stores and restaurants belong to an economically weaker section and their livelihood is impacted the most. Most of the employees working in this sector are from other states.

“Many employees are jobless without any alternative income source. Without alternative income sources, these staffers and their families will have no means to survive. If the Covid restrictions continue, joblessness is expected to be significantly worse. They are looking up to the mall owners, unfortunately we are helpless. In the current scenario it’s the need of the hour to protect the most vulnerable before it becomes very urgent,” said Surjit Singh Rajpurohit, committee member SCAI and COO, Amanora Mall.

Nikit Chawda, a senior manager at one of the malls said, “There are EMIs to pay and many other liabilities in a family. As the malls were closed we were paid half salary. If such a situation continues we will need to either sell our assets.”