Two years after it reopened under a new management and with a brand new spread, Blue Fox, one of the perennial faves on Park Street since 1961, has been forced to down shutters following labour trouble.
After the restaurant staff had resorted to a cease-work since Saturday over a dispute on allowances, the eatery, owned by catering king Dipak Kumar Singh, alias Munna Maharaj, shut shop on Tuesday, pending negotiations.
Restoration of an ex-gratia compensation package for the scrapped service tax and bonus on leave wages are among the issues on the demand charter.
?There was no point in keeping the place open, since they (the staff) were not serving the guests any way,? said Sanjay Singh, brother of Munna Maharaj, who is currently out of town.
Singh added that the management will meet the employees on Saturday, once Munna Maharaj is back.
?This agitation was completely uncalled for, since we have not digressed from the signed agreement on wages. According to a tripartite pact in front of the labour commissioner in April 2003, the levy of service tax was discontinued, and this was one of the pre-conditions for reopening,? he said.
After the restaurant opened on October 1, 2003 following a 10-month hiatus, union leaders requested a compensation package ?to run till March 31, 2005?, to which the management agreed.
?Accordingly, we continued to pay them Rs 400 per month from our own pocket till the agreement ran out. This is sheer blackmail and no issue to strike work,? Singh said.
Citu, which backs the Blue Fox staff union, however, insisted that service tax isn?t the bone of contention here. ?It's a minor issue, really, mainly of bonus not given on leave wages, nothing that can't be sorted out soon,? said T.K. Sengupta, Citu leader and general secretary of the City Eating & Refreshment Establishments Workers Union.
S.K. Khullar, senior vice-president of the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Eastern India, said it was ?unfortunate? that the restaurant had to be shut.
?We can come up with suggestions only if the management asks us to intervene. However, a cease-work is not the right vehicle of protest and in today?s competitive scenario, high-handedness doesn?t get you anywhere,? he said.
