According to the management, they were forced to shut down the operation after workers, who were staging protest, started misbehaving with casino guests. The management has charged workers of not behaving properly and not serving food to the guests. [break]
Labor union, on the other hand, said the six-member management team had gone out of contact.
Workers of the Pokhara-based casinos had launched strike a few days ago, asking the management to increase their salary by Rs 1,600 as published in the government´s gazette. They have even charged the management of misusing the amount of staff welfare fund.
Interestingly, the management shut down the casino on the day they were scheduled to hold negotiations with the workers in the presence of officials of Labor Office. Leaders of the union said they were surprised to see the lock on the entrance of the casino when they reached the casino premises Tuesday afternoon.
The management had locked the entrance of the casino, pasting a notice that the casino will be closed indefinitely. The notice undersigned by senior manager Shyam Sundar Khadka states that although the management was positive about the demand, they were compelled to shut the operation after workers stopped serving the guests. The management also wrote to the Labor Office on the same day, informing that they were shutting down operation and hence won´t be able to sit for negotiations.
The management has charged the workers of not serving alcohol to guests from Sunday and food from Monday.
The casino, which is located in the premises of Pokhara Grande Hotel, has 220 employees. Both the hotel and the casino are promoted by Kishor Silwal who is also operating Casino Rad and Casino Venus in Kathmandu.
Khadka said the management was open for talks and that the casino would resume operation only after resolving the labor issue. The employees, on the other hand, have given the management two days to resume operation of the casino. They have warned of shutting the hotel if the casino is not brought back into operation.
“We will wait for two or three days. If the management did not resume operation of the casino, our protest will be hotel-centric,” Naraj Bahadur Khadka, All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers´ Union (ANHRWU), said.
The union has also filed a case against the management at the Labor Office, accusing it of violating Labor Act by illegally shutting down the casino.
Naraj Bahadur said they started the protest after the management increased salary of the hotel workers only. He also accused the management of misusing staff welfare fund worth around Rs 5 million.
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