Direct ESIC to pay salaries of hotels’ staff, hoteliers to Himachal CM

Shimla, April 29

A Shimla hoteliers’ delegation has requested Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to direct the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to pay salaries of hotels’ staff not only for the lockdown period but also for six months after the lockdown is lifted.

The three-member delegation of the Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association (SHRA), led by president Sanjay Sood and comprising office-bearers Prince Kukreja and Baljeet Singh, made the demand during their meeting with the Chief Minister at his official residence in Oakover on Wednesday.

The delegation met Chief Minister Thakur to request him to provide relief for the pandemic-battered industry of tourism.

Soon after meeting Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Sanjay Sood said they also requested him to charge electricity, power and garbage bills against actual consumption or usage of service instead of commercial charges which were around 10 times more than the actual consumption.

They also requested the Chief Minster to adjust for the next financial year the excise fees already paid by the hoteliers for the current financial year as there was no work due to the Covid-19 lockdown, and would seemingly have no work for next several months post lockdown.

The delegation requested the Chief Minister to direct the ESIC to pay the salaries of the staff since the staff was technically on leave as it was usually the ESIC who paid the salary of the staff members when they were on leave owing to any medical condition.

For the staff who are beyond the coverage limit of the ESIC, the establishments might be allowed to pay 25 per cent of the salary while the balance might be paid by the government or government agency such as the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), they added.

Sood said the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had already written to the Centre for paying salaries of the hotel staff through the ESIC. The Chief Minister gave us a patient hearing, they added. PTI