Are Labor Rights Being Ignored? A Former Employee Raises Concerns About Compliance Issues at Priyanka Selection Pvt Ltd

Respected Sir,

I, C. Radha Krishna, was an employee of M/s Priyanka Selection Pvt Ltd as a Store Manager. The organization is in the retail business and deals with sarees, dress materials, ready-made dresses, etc., for ladies and kids. The company commenced its business on 5th October 2013 in KPHB Colony, Hyderabad. Currently, they have three showrooms in Hyderabad city. The addresses are as mentioned below.

1st Showroom

Priyanka
MIG 221, Phase 1
Road No 2, Beside Taruni Showroom
Near RS Brothers, KPHB Colony
Hyderabad, 500072
Phone: 040-66516299

2nd Showroom

Priyanka
Plot No. MIG 32
H. No. 1-18-34/32
Near Railway Reservation Counter
AS Rao Nagar, Kapra Municipality
Hyderabad, 500062
Phone: 040-42220299

3rd Showroom

Priyanka
6-3-788/A/2
Part of Padmawathi Shopping Mall
Opp Chermas, Ameerpet Bus Stop
Ameerpet
Hyderabad, 500016
Phone: 040-66815253

The below mentioned are some other details of the organization that may be required:

• Certificate of Incorporation ID Number is U17290AP2013PTC089671.
• Commercial Taxes Department (TIN number) 28363531800.
• PAN No. AAHCP3280D

Lapses to Bring to the Notice of the Labor Commissioner

1. The company does not have any trade license for any of the showrooms. They had one for the KPHB Colony showroom, which expired in March 2014 and has not been renewed to date.

2. All showrooms don’t have Shops & Establishments Licenses to date.

3. All the showrooms are functional 365 days without having a 365-day working license, which is against the rule.

4. The organization registered with ESIC and EPFO last year for only 23 employees, but neither a single rupee is being deducted from the employees nor has the organization contributed from their side and credited the amount to the government. In case of any emergency, employees are unable to utilize the facilities offered by the government as they have not been registered for ESIC or EPFO and don’t have any ESIC or EPFO accounts to date.

5. The company employs close to 200 to 250 employees across all three locations. However, as per the labor certificates, the registration has been done only for 50 to 55 employees. The Labor License No for KPHB Colony is AL0221201400011782.

6. The company does not follow any procedures regarding the recording of attendance in the registers as per rule from the beginning.

7. The company started deducting professional tax from employees’ salaries from June 2014. Whether they are paying the amount to the government is not known. Employees with salaries over Rs. 25,000/- per month have had TDS deducted without having registration with TDS.

8. No employee is given any kind of offer letter or appointment letter except for those who joined in June 2014.

9. No employee has been given any kind of pay slips against their salaries to date.

10. The organization terminates employees at will, without notice, valid reasons, or compensation. Even on 31st October, close to 20 salespersons were expelled in a single day without proper reasons.

11. Salaries are not paid on time. The committed date for paying salaries is the 5th of every month, but this is extended to the 20th to 22nd of every month.

12. Employees who have completed one year of service have not received the Dusshera/Diwali Bonus to date. Though this is not committed by management, it has been followed in the retail industry for a long time.

As per the above details mentioned, I request you to kindly look into the actions to be taken against the company and the management for the benefit of all the existing and non-existing employees on the payrolls of the organization.

Regards,
Radha Krishna. C
27-16/29/4, LB Nagar Colony
Neredmet, RK Puram (PO)
Hyderabad, 500056
Mobile No: [Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

When you have all these details with you, why not make a complaint with the concerned Labour officer in whose jurisdiction the particular shop falls, especially if you are a victim of your employer? If you meet any labor law practitioner in Hyderabad, they can guide you on taking necessary action. It is crucial that PF & ESI contributions are made and remitted to the concerned offices without fail; otherwise, it may be viewed as a serious lapse on the part of the employer. If an employee's service is illegally terminated, the employee can invoke the jurisdiction of the Authorities under the Shops and Establishment Act with sufficient proofs so that their cases will be taken up accordingly by the labor department.

Regards,

Dear Radha Krishna C,

There are many observations made by the Labour Inspector. Obviously, before raising these objections, he must have verified the documents and then only recorded the observations. You have been given a reply on how to handle this issue; however, I will raise another issue.

The State of Labour Regulations in India

There are a large number of unscrupulous businesspersons in India. There was some deterrent in the form of the Labour Officer. The Narendra Modi government, in the guise of removing "Inspector Raj," wanted to clip the wings of labour authorities and give a free run to these unprincipled businessmen. While the businesses of the business owners may flourish, it could be at the cost of poor workers because they will be deprived of the benefits of social securities.

Concerns About Business Compliance

Look at the temerity of the business owner. He does not even have a proper attendance register. He has disregarded every single law like PF, ESI, and the Shops and Establishment Act. Can anyone deny the evidence of the state of things to come in the future?

Thanks,

Dinesh V Divekar

I believe that citeHR is a forum for discussing subjects related to labor laws, HR procedures, and theories. It is not a platform for lodging grievances or complaints against employers or their officers. I personally think that employers should ensure compliance with labor laws and provide employees with access to social security benefits and other entitlements as outlined in various labor laws. However, personally, I am unable to take any further action.

Perhaps the organizers of citeHR may wish to escalate the aforementioned issues to the relevant government departments for investigation and resolution of the employees' grievances as highlighted by the individual who initiated this discussion thread.

Dear Adv KH Kulkarni,

While I respect you as a person and your views, I would like to bring a divergent view in this context. Why do people come and join public forums? They come here to seek advice. The person in question has brought his organization's problems to the general HR forum. While doing so, he could have concealed his identity. Nevertheless, he has done it unwittingly and is not fully aware of the consequences. Perhaps he is so exasperated that he does not care about potential repercussions leading to his removal from his current employment.

The Role of Public Forums

Public forums play a crucial role in bringing to light issues that are often ignored. Without these forums, the world would never have a glimpse of what is happening globally. A few years ago, Julian Assange did this through Wikileaks, revealing how America perceives its allies and adversaries.

Focus on the Core Issue

Looking beyond the inconsistencies in his post, what we, as senior members, should focus on is what is more than meets the eye. The essence of the post highlights the rampant violation of labor laws. This occurrence is not uncommon, as employers at times disregard regulations. In this case, even feedback is deemed unnecessary. Compliance with labor laws should be a fundamental aspect that any business owner understands and adheres to.

Challenges in Addressing Employer Misconduct

Approaching employers in India is never an easy task. Just two days ago, news emerged with the headline "Infosys women employees accuse senior executive of sexual harassment." These women resorted to creating a fictitious email ID to report the incident, showcasing the reluctance to address such matters officially. This incident raises concerns about the prevailing scenario.

The Need for Regulatory Oversight

The violation of labor laws is widespread in India, where the laws themselves seem to favor employers. General forums are not courts where we verify facts before commenting. Scrutinizing evidence might lead to questioning the credibility of the poster. It remains uncertain if the poster is indeed an employee of the mentioned company or if a business rival has fabricated the story. Even if a fraction of the post is true, it underscores the need for regulatory oversight.

Ensuring Labor Rights Protection

While eliminating the inspectorial oversight, the Modi government must ensure adequate safeguards to protect labor rights. Neglecting this could regress labor rights to a bygone era. It is imperative for the HR fraternity to understand this and go beyond conventional jargon to foresee potential implications and advise the government accordingly. Nevertheless, given their self-serving nature, their proactive role remains doubtful.

Thanks and regards,

Dinesh Divekar

I have gone through the views expressed by you, and I differ with you on the very point that bringing a topic or point for discussion, consultation, or advice on a social forum is different from posting a complaint with unnecessary and personalized details. The employee had no reason to make it public under the guise of seeking advice for non-compliance when one is not sure about it. The employee has not mentioned whether he has brought these things to the notice of the seniors or the HR section, or if it is only tea-table gossiping on which non-compliance is assumed. My point is there are certain methods by which one can get information about compliance, and one should be sure before commenting on it.

In a newly started business, such gossiping has a far more adverse impact on the morale of the employees, and it is very difficult for HR to address it. So, the employee could have posted his grievance: "My employer is not making any statutory compliance such as payment of PF, ESI, PT, IT, Shops Act, MW Act, etc., and how and where can I make a complaint? Location: Hyderabad city." I think this line is sufficient for advisers to reply and guide.

I hope I am not misunderstood.

Dear Dinesh Divekarji, Your comments from yesterday are very relevant and correct, and I agree with the same. I have been contributing to CiteHR for about a year, particularly on ESI/labour laws matters. I am aware of the widespread exploitation of the working class. Even after matters are discussed on this platform and the correct position is explained to the thread initiator, there seems to be no relief for the worker/employee.

Cautious Approach in Expressing Views

I believe that when expressing views, we should adopt a cautious approach. This is to ensure that the employee, who is already facing harassment, does not have to deal with any adverse actions from their employer for voicing their grievances outside, such as by writing on CiteHR. I recall a few months ago when a female employee shared her grievance on CiteHR about her employer not providing maternity benefits. Several experts and senior members on CiteHR offered their opinions, some even suggesting she approach the Labour Inspector or Labour Court or file a case against her employer. I am unsure of what happened with her claim for maternity benefits, but after 2-3 months, the same woman mentioned in the thread that her employer had terminated her services. I believe to some extent, her termination may not be solely due to her expressing her grievance on CiteHR, which is outside the administrative scope of her employment.

Addressing Labour Exploitation

The exploitation of labor due to the non-enforcement of labor laws is so widespread that it is challenging to accurately describe the state of labor laws. Therefore, in my opinion, when providing suggestions in our comments, we should also advise the thread initiator to follow the procedures outlined in their employment terms and conditions. They should seek remedies through the relevant authorities created by the applicable laws. This will prevent the employer from having the opportunity to further harass the employee for voicing their grievances outside the employer's jurisdiction to the public.

I trust that you will review the remarks made by Sh. Kulkarniji, Advocate, in light of the challenges I have highlighted in this message. Ultimately, our goal is to educate and provide the correct position to the complainant or thread initiator.

Regards.

I am inclined to agree with Mr. Kulkarni. A more common-sense approach would have been to ask a question on how to file a report/complaint, rather than provide a lot of details that could lead to the employee being traced. This leads me to wonder whether the poster is still employed or is part of the 20 salespersons removed from their job.

Points of Concern

There are some important points I find difficult to understand:

- The company is in the retail business with small showrooms. Why would they need 250 employees?
- If they are large, it's hard to believe that this level of blatant non-compliance would be missed.
- A Pvt Ltd company with a PAN number and no TAN number for TDS is hard to believe. The auditor would never sign the tax audit report.
- How did they get a VAT number (commercial tax has been gone for some years) without a shop and establishment license?
- Why would they need a labor license for everyone? Unless the entire operation is being run with purely contract labor.
- How does the poster know that TDS is not deposited? Has he/she checked individual 26AS Accounts?

I also see the original poster has not bothered to respond to posts that have come in yesterday or today.