Trade unionism has forced the closure of three restaurants and a hotel in the city in the past one year.

Disputes between the workers and the management of Southern Aminia, The Samilton and Kwality are pending before the labour directorate.

Kwality, near Ballygunge Phari, suspended operations on October 1 following labour trouble. The workers had pasted posters on the walls of the 47-year-old establishment and shouted slogans in the presence of diners.

?We take care of our staff, but this closure has been forced on us,? said governing partner B.K. Ghai. The management will restart operations only after ?some discipline is instilled among the workers?.

The union, affiliated to Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), has accused the management of being unfair in paying the employees. ?The management had offered a flat Rs 6,000 as bonus, whereas we should have got 20 per cent of our salaries as bonus,? said Sachin Roychoudhury, vice-president, HMS Bengal chapter.

The Samilton, on Sarat Bose Road, downed shutters on April 30 after the management refused to give in to the workers? demands.

?We couldn?t have borne the burden of another salary revision. While maintenance, electricity and other expenses shot up by 50 to 75 per cent in the past seven years, we couldn?t hike tariff because of competition,? said Kishore K. Samtani, managing director of Annapurna Hotel Pvt Ltd, which runs The Samilton.

Southern Aminia, in Gol Park, closed down in December last year and the management is locked in a tussle with the CITU-affiliated union.

?The union is not vacating the premises,? said N. Amin, managing director, Aminia (Gol Park) Restaurant Pvt Ltd.

The management of Bedouin-Hi Hat is reluctant to admit that labour unrest had forced the closure in March. ?Bengal will always have this problem. The best way to tackle this is to appoint a labour contractor,? said a franchisee.