Even as the state's chief electoral officer has asked the labour department to go slow on compulsory paid holiday diktat for election
day, confusion prevails over its enforcement. A senior officer in the labour department Mumbai said against the backdrop of new instruction, steps to be taken will only be decided on Monday. Meanwhile sources in additional labour commissioner's office in the city said they will continue with the plan of having one flying squad to inspect the establishments. A control room will also be set up where workers can call up to complain if they are denied a paid leave or their wages are deducted on availing leave.
Confusion prevails about other aspects too. Earlier the district collector had told TOI that commercial establishments could open after 5.30 pm when the voting ended. The labour department maintained that that notification did not allow any such relaxation. "A paid holiday means leave for entire day," asserted a labour department official in Mumbai.
Traders say that the rule will hit their festive season sale. They are expecting shoppers to come out in large numbers on election day, it being a general holiday for the government employees and others. The next common holiday is on Sunday, which falls a day after Diwali, said B C Bhartia of Confederation of All India Traders.
Gold merchants say it would be worse for them. Dhanteras, when many consider it auspicious to buy gold, falls on October 15. Shutting shops on October 13 will lead to a loss. "Many customers come a day or two in advance to book. A lot of preparation will have to be done to gear up for the business on Dhanteras eve which is on October 14. A holiday on October 13 will disrupt all plans," said Nitin Khandelwal, a gold trader from Akola and a director of the All India Gems and Jewellery Federation. Rajkumar Gupta, president of Nagpur Sarafa Traders Association, said the traders here will decide their stance on the issue in a meeting on Monday.
According to Prabhakar Deshmukh who heads the guild of grocery dealers, those with a one or two persons employed as assistants will be opening their shops a little later in the day so that workers can cast their vote and then come. Deshmukh represents around 12,000 such traders,
Kishore Biyani, managing director of Pantaloon (Retail) India Limited, said they were planning to open the stores after 5.30 pm. Biyani, whose company runs the Big Bazaar chain of stores, admitted that the order will impact Diwali business and was also too ambiguous.