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Atlas staff get a month's pay for 3 months' work

Dubai - Employees said they are still uncertain about future even as the group has announced a tie-up with a company that is willing to invest in Atlas' jewellery business in the UAE

After nearly three months of uncertainty, hardships and non-payment of salaries, around 125 employees of debt-ridden Atlas Jewellery Group's shops in the UAE have been paid one month's salary.
The interim respite to the staff of 19 outlets and a workshop came finally on Thursday after they warned the management of shuttering the shops if salaries were not paid, sources told Khaleej Times.
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The employees of Atlas in the UAE were left high and dry after the group's Chairman, M.M. Ramachandran, and his daughter were jailed on charges of issuing dud cheques worth millions of dirhams in August.
"Nobody bothered to check what was happening to the employees after the owner was sent to jail," an aggrieved salesman told Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity. "All staff members stood loyally by the company in times of crisis ... but they had to bear the brunt for it."
Another managerial staff said two and a half months' salaries were pending for Atlas staff in the UAE.
Earlier, one month's salaries that were paid through the Wage Protection System were taken back by the company in cash, Atlas employees told Khaleej Times.
They claimed they were given just Dh1,000 the next day for meeting their expenses after the staff raised a protest with the management for taking their salaries back.
"We couldn't send money to our families back home and it became difficult to even buy food as supermarkets and restaurants wouldn't give us food on credit ... We feared the disconnection of water and electricity services also because the bills were not paid." Though the company has provided accommodations for the staff, the utility bills are footed by the employees.
As the crisis worsened, the sources said, some managers and senior staff informed the management that the employees will not open the shops from November 1.
After negotiations with the staff, the management assured them of payment of one month's salary on November 5, following which the employees refrained from downing the shutters, they said.
Their salaries were paid as promised and there was no deduction of utility bills' amount this time.
However, the employees said they are still uncertain about their future even as the group has announced a tie-up with a company that is willing to invest in Atlas' jewellery business in the UAE and healthcare business in Oman.
 

New deal progressing
The agreement with Maas Group was announced on October 28, a day before the hearing of Ramachandran's bail plea, which was rejected for a second time.
"Most of us have started looking for other jobs. Some have gone back to India believing the promise of the company that their pending salaries and service benefits will be paid there," said one salesman.
When contacted, a spokesperson said Atlas has not yet reached a final deal with the Hyderabad-based Maas Group. "We are still in the process of finalising the partnership. We are also continuing talks with the banks to settle the payments," he said. "We are hopeful that we can tide over the crisis soon and are planning to get fresh stock of gold to the UAE outlets before the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF)."
He said the payment of salaries was done using funds sourced from the group's businesses outside the UAE.
Refuting the claim that employees had threatened to close the shops, he said only two employees have returned to India with the company's promissory note on settling their dues over there.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for November 12.
sajila@khaleejtimes.com