Centaur staffers oppose any move to privatise hotel

Staffers of Centaur Hotel in Srinagar today opposed any move by the Centre to privatise it and said they would be willing to accept transfer of its ownership to the Jammu and Kashmir government after a long- pending pay revision.
In a statement here, the Centaur Hotel Employees Union (CHEU) said it "outrightly rejects" a reported proposal to privatise the hotel, adding that "any such move shall attract strong resentment and antipathy" of the employees.
Centaur Hotel is part of the Hotel Corporation of India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India. The privatisation and resale of the Mumbai Centaur in the early 2000 had raised a major controversy over the allegedly flawed valuation of state-run undertakings before being put up for sale.

Indicating that CHEU would seek the cooperation of all political parties in opposing any privatisation move, the statement, signed by President Javed A Pandit, said, "However, the transfer of services and property to state government will continue to be appreciated after realising a pay revision of the employees."
A large number of Srinagar Centaur employees, who have also been protesting the alleged anti-labour attitude of the management, yesterday met Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh here to put forth their demands, Pandit said.
The workers had proceeded from Srinagar to Delhi to lodge their protest with the Minister, he added.