Fired Centaur Hotel employees allege violations of court directives

Centaur Hotel employees protesting at Srinagar on Saturday. -Excelsior/Shakeel
Centaur Hotel employees protesting at Srinagar on Saturday. -Excelsior/Shakeel

Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 16: The terminated employees of the Centaur Hotel today staged a protest urging the authorities to adhere to the directives issued by the Supreme Court as well as the High Court failing which they will be forced to come out on roads.

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Holding placards and raising slogans in their favor, scores of such employees appeared in the Press Enclave, while urging the administration to go by the directions issued by the courts.
“The Supreme Court, as well as the High Court, has directed that no adverse action should be taken against the petitioners. What is the adverse action and what are we facing right now,” said Farooq Ahmad Bhat, one of the members of the Centaur Hotel Employees Union.
He said that as per the directives, they cannot stop the dues of the employees, “but they have stopped everything. They have said that they will not release any kind of dues in our favor,” he said, adding that SC has directed the UT administration as well as the Civil Aviation Ministry to let the employees work.
The terminated employees said that for the last over a month they are on the roads alleging that they have been forcibly deprived of their jobs.
“We fail to understand where to go and who to seek help from; we have brought the matter to the notice of the Civil Aviation Ministry as well as the Administration here, but so far, we have not received any response from them,” Ghulam Haider Dar, General Secretary, Centaur Hotel Employees Union said.
The employees said that they have approached the High Court which has issued the necessary directions asking the authorities not to take any adverse action against them
“As per the court, we were supposed to submit a comprehensive representation, which we did, and they were supposed to reply within one week; but more than 10 days have passed and we are yet to receive any reply from them.”