A Shimla hoteliers' delegation has requested Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to direct Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to pay salaries of hotels' staff not only for the lockdown period but also for six months after the coronavirus lockdown.
The three-member delegation of Shimla Hotel and Restaurant Association (SHRA) led by its president Sanjay Sood and comprising its office bearers Prince Kukreja and Baljeet Singh made this demand during their meeting with CM at his official residence in Oakover on Wednesday.
The delegation met Thakur to request him to provide relief for the oandemic-battered industry of tourism.
Soon after meeting the CM, Sanjay Sood told PTI that they also requested him to charge electricity, power and garbage bills against actual consumption or usage of service instead of commercial charges which are around ten 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 is no work due to the coronavirus lockdown and will seemingly no work for next several months even after the lockdown.
The delegation requested the CM to direct ESIC to pay the salaries of the staff since the staff is technically on leave due this medical emergency and ESIC usually pays the salary of the staff members when they are on leave due to some medical condition.
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In fact this support from the government and ESIC will be required not only during the lockdown period, but also for six months after that, since tourism is not likely to pick up till the last quarter, they added.
For the staff who are beyond the coverage limit of the ESIC, the establishments may be allowed to pay 25 percent of the salary and balance may be paid by the government or government agency like Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), they added.
Sood said the CM had already written to the centre for paying salaries of the hotel staff through ESIC. The CM gave them a patient hearing, they added.