240 BPP workers on strike today over delayed bonuses

Yezdi Desai, BPP chairman

In a move that is bound to affect the day-to-day affairs of Doongerwadi, the Parsi community's Tower of Silence, around 240 employees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) will be on a day-long strike on Tuesday to protest the delay in payment of their bonuses. As a temporary fix, BPP has arranged for volunteers from within the community to replace the workers.

While a majority of the class IV employees, who are part of the Mumbai Mazdoor Union, work as sweepers, watchmen and gardeners, around 40 of them work at Doongerwadi as hearse drivers and pall bearers. They told the BPP Trust that they would go on mass casual leave on August 21, when they didn't receive their bonus by August 17, the Parsi New Year.

"This is the first time ever that the bonus hasn't been paid. Many of them are very poor and come from villages," said Dhunji Naterwalla, general secretary of the union. He claimed they've written to the BPP around five times since February, but hadn't received any response. "We don't want to hurt the sentiments of the community, and we deeply regret our strike. But we have no choice," he added.

BPP chairman Yezdi Desai said the delay was due to a financial crunch. His letter pointed out that as per the terms of settlement, the bonus can be paid 10 days before either the Parsi New Year, Ganesh Chaturthi or Diwali. He also asked Naterwalla to withdraw the strike or face legal action. Kersi Randeria, a BPP trustee said, "We never said we're not paying them. This kind of behaviour only spoils the good relationship between us and the workers." Desai said the union is asking for a raise cumulatively amounting to Rs 3.5 crore, a cost they can't afford. "We can always outsource the other workers. Our only problem is Doongerwadi, and they're aware of this," he said.

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