Mangalore: Security agency employees allege cheating by proprietor

Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NM)

Mangalore, Nov 15: The employees of a security agency in the city on Friday November 15 accused the proprietor of the company of cheating them by not paying their salaries. The proprietor is said to be absconding

At least 20 employees of ‘Garuda Security and Personnel Services’, Pumpwell here gathered in front of their office and demanded justice. However, the office has been locked down since a week. Besides, the proprietor Sabheesh Kumar and manager Beju, both from Kerala, are out of reach and their mobile phones are switched off.

M Vijay Kumar Bhat who has been working for the company since four years said, “The company stopped paying my remuneration two months ago. We approached the labour court and also lodged a complaint in the police station. However, no action has been taken yet.”
 
74-year-old Valerian Pinto of Kadri who recently joined the company to manage finances said, “I am much in need of money and hence I joined work at this age. I have not been paid although I worked the entire October.”
 
Thakur Lal of Mandhya Pradesh has been working with the company since three years. “I was promised a remuneration of Rs 10,000 per month. But over the last five months, he gave me little sums of money whenever I approached him for salary. Last month, my father was sick. I asked for my pending salary of four months. He paid just Rs 10,000 and promised to deposit the rest of the money in my account. But when I reached my native in Madhya Pradesh, the proprietor did not deposit it. As a result, I had to beg people to bear the medical expenses of my father.”
 
Vijay Kumar Bhat said, “The company has its employees working as security guards in KMC Hospital, Jyothi, Mandovi Motors, LG and Ocean Pearl. There are nearly 100 security men and no salary has been paid to any of them. However, 40 security guards of KMC Hospital will have no problem as another security agency has promised to take them over. The other 60 employees have to be paid  salary of two months,” he explained.
 
“Our job is to provide security to others; however, today we ourselves do not have any (financial) security. We are from poor and middle class families. We have no savings and without this salary, we will have to beg for food until we get work elsewhere,” said Vijay Kumar.
 
A few employees also showed cheques issued by the proprietor which bounced. Vijay Kumar said, “When we went to the bank to encash the cheques, the officers said there was no money in the account”.