On August 28, Gaurav Gupta, a popular PR professional in media circles, shocked everyone with his LinkedIn post. The usually soft-spoken, happy-go-lucky chap asked some tough questions to Carnival Cinemas, where he worked for 6 years until July 2021. Gaurav asked, “What should you do when your ex-employer (a self-proclaimed third largest multiplex chain in India) is not ready to respond to your repetitive e-mail/messages regarding FnF settlement including its Group Chairman & Founder, Business Heads, CHRO and MD whom you have served for over 6 years but is elevating people in the so called core-team and talking about business expansion in public without any shame or responsibility?” He continued, “One more question - how will it reach the 1000 screens milestone without paying the dues of employees (past and present), vendors and partners?”
He got support from Mohan Umrotkar, ex-CEO of Carnival Cinemas, who commented, “Thanks for sharing…like you there are many employees who are suffering and waiting for their dues. Sad part is selectively all these so called leaders have got their 100% salary even during this pandemic….shame shame”.
“We were paid Rs. 5000 a month”
Gaurav Gupta joined Carnival Cinemas in May 2015 as Sr. Manager, PR & Media Alliance. In 2017, he was promoted to AGM, Media Alliance and Corporate Communications. When Bollywood Hungama reached out to him, he explained, “The company has not paid us properly since the lockdown began on March 25, 2020. They haven’t even paid us the full salary for March 2020. We got a mail from HR stating that we’ll be paid our full salaries of March and April whenever the company will have money. Till then, the company agreed to pay 15% of the salary and the balance 85% will be paid later. After a month or two passed, we were told that they wouldn't be able to pay even 15% of the salary. So the company decided to pay us Rs. 5,000 a month. Imagine that if you are earning Rs. 15 lakh annually and then suddenly you’ll be handed just Rs. 5,000! How can anyone manage that too in a city like Mumbai? Our house rent itself was Rs. 40,000 a month.”
Gaurav then said, “And then two months later, even the Rs. 5,000 a month payment stopped. During Diwali, we were given a payment which they said were the arrears that we were supposed to get from May 2020. But it was just 80% of one month’s salary. I don’t know on what basis they made this calculation.”
However, things got better from thereon, “From November, they started paying us 50% of the salary. And from January or February 2021, we started getting 70% of our salary. So I felt that the situation is getting better. I was about to start going to the office in April but then the second lockdown was announced. So, the cinemas were shut once again.”
The problems erupted once again for Gaurav Gupta, “On May 15, 2021, my then reporting manager, Prashant Kulkarni, told me that the company is putting me on the bench, that too from May 1! What were they doing for these 15 days then? I agreed and I asked him what will happen to my April salary and the other dues that the company has not paid me since the lockdown began. Prashant Kulkarni told me that no one is getting paid but assured me that he’ll clear my dues by May-end. At the end of May, I was told that it’ll be done within the next two weeks.”
Gaurav Gupta then narrated, “I kept following up and after a point, they stopped responding. Then one day, I sent a message to the CHRO, Prashant Narayanan. My reporting manager, Prashant Kulkarni, found out that I had a word with the CHRO and didn’t appreciate it. Once I called Prashant Kulkarni to ask him the status of my salary. To which he rebuked me that I should talk directly to the CHRO and he hung up! I am not a rookie. I have been working in the industry for the last 13 years.”
Gaurav Gupta however continued following up and asking the status, “After this incident, I mailed the second in command in the HR. I asked him to issue the statement of my dues since I didn’t know how much the company owes me. It took multiple emails from my side to get a response to my query. He finally replied, saying that I’ll get my dues with my full and final settlement. I replied that if he’s mentioning full and final, does that mean that the company has fired me? Mujhe pata toh hona chahiye ki main company mein hoon ya nahi hoon. He replied with an apology and stated that I am still in the company, on bench. He reasoned that since they don’t have the manpower, a statement will be issued later on. No definite timeline was given in this regard.”
Gaurav continued, “One day, I received a mail from Vaishali Sarvankar, CEO, Carnival Motion Pictures. She asked me to submit my PR partner database as they wanted to start the PR of Shrikant Bhasi, chairman of Carnival Group. I realized that indirectly she was asking me to handover the database to her. Also, she wanted the list of journalists, photographers, editors etc. but she put them in the PR partner category. Anyway, I asked her about my dues and requested at least to inform HR to give me the statement of my dues. She replied that I am trying to hold the company’s assets. I made it clear that the PR partner database is mine and is not the company's property. Those are my contacts that I have built over the years. I didn’t receive a reply. Since it became clear to them that I won’t share the database till I don’t get the answers to my questions. I expected the termination letter the same day.”
And then it finally happened, “3 days later, on July 8, I got the termination letter stating that my services were no longer required. They also mentioned that due to Covid-19, the company is restructuring. I was okay with them firing me but at least, pay me my dues. Now they were liable to pay me one month's salary as well. Since that day, I have been constantly following up with them. I must have written 8-10 mails to them and several messages. Mr. Shrikant Bhasi used to reply to my news coverage messages immediately but he chooses to not reply anymore.”
When asked how much Carnival is supposed to pay Gaurav Gupta, he replied, “I can’t be sure but I guess Carnival owes me around Rs. 7-8 lakhs. I think they’ll make some deductions, I don’t know. Only they can answer but they aren’t responding. If I write a mail to any government department, getting a reply from them is easier than getting a reply from Carnival chairman!”
What has hurt Gaurav Gupta is that they chose to not communicate to him properly, “My relation with my MD and CHRO were very personal. I knew them even before joining Carnival. I was expecting that they’ll at least call me and tell me about how much time it will take for the dues to get cleared. And I do understand that the company is going through a tough time. Even in normal times, our salaries used to be credited 8-10 days late. How correct is it to ignore the mail of a person who has served you for 6 years?”
Gaurav Gupta also claims that he’s not the only one suffering, “They have put almost everyone on the bench. Talk to anyone and most of them will tell you that they are on bench or not getting paid properly.” He added, “If a company is deducting my salary, won’t the company sign a paper with me, asking whether or not I am agreeing to work on those terms? It’s not fair that I work for a month and then they cut my salary whenever they want to. Also, the money I am asking for is my hard earned salary. It’s not an aid being provided by the company.”
Unpaid dues; employees forced to sell milk and vegetables
A source revealed that Carnival hasn’t had a good reputation even before the lockdown, “They have been struggling for a very long time. There have been instances wherein they have deducted PF from the salary and did not submit it in the EPFO system, that too before the pandemic. So many producers in the industry have not been paid. Ask any major production house. Market mein Rs. 40 crore se zyada paisa due hai inka”
The source further said, “Carnival started a new venture called Farmse and its misleading consumers. They claim that they are sourcing vegetables and other products directly from farms. But they are not. They are actually buying it from APMC market in Navi Mumbai. They load up the produce in a tempo. It is cleaned and packed in IMAX Wadala. So they are publicly cheating people.”
He also added, “They are paying salaries to all other verticals. They are into realty, cloud kitchen, food business (Carnival Foods) etc. They have Periyar Dairy Farm in Kerala. All these businesses are working smoothly. It’s only the cinema business people whom they are not interested in paying.”
A report in the August 30 issue of Economic Times on Carnival’s problems also highlights Farmse. A cinema manager has been quoted saying that they have been made part of this vertical and are asked to sell milk and vegetables. This manager further claims that since May 2020, he and others have received a fraction of the salary and that people don’t want to quit, fearing they won’t get their FnF.
“It is the intention that’s the problem”
An ex-employee, who is also fighting for his pay, revealed, “Some who have left the organization in March 2019 are also facing the same issue. Their dues haven’t been paid and they haven’t got satisfactory answers from the management.” He added, “Close to 2500 people were on the payroll. A similar number of people that were working for them came through agencies. These agencies are also behind Carnival as even their dues have been unpaid. So, around 4500 people are distressed. The majority of them have now been relieved. Less than 100 people must be working now.”
The ex-employee further said, “Those who left, their FnF has not been carried out and there has been no response from them so far. That’s the most unfortunate part. We have found out that some people are getting their salary regularly. In my opinion, the guys who have left, their salary and FnF should be paid before someone else gets their pay. So this is very unethical and unprofessional on the part of Carnival.”
He also revealed, “Many of these employees are at the junior level. They are not highly educated and aware and sadly, they are not even getting support from the unions. The unions are also not doing the real job. These are the times when they should have come and stood along with their employees. And the way they are talking of expanding business and that certain people are getting their salaries, it’s clear that money is not the issue. It is the intention that’s the problem.”
The ex-employee also blurted, “Lot of vendors too haven’t been paid. And their condition is as bad as that of the junior employees.”
Carnival’s 1000 screen expansion a long shot?
Last week, Carnival had announced that it’ll increase its number of screens to 1000 by the end of 2023. Currently, they have 450 screens. However, an executive from the exhibition community said that even some of their existing properties are facing a tough time. He said, “Even before the pandemic, there used to be problems or delays in paying rent. After the cinemas were allowed in October, Carnival’s theatres opened late. This is because their tussle with regards to the property tax and rent agreement went on for a long time. Two Carnival properties in Mumbai, the one in Harmony Mall, Oshiwara and the one at Deepak Cinema, haven’t opened since March 2020.”
However, the ex-employee remarked, “Lot of properties across multiplex chains have had issues due to the pandemic. In the case of Carnival, since they used to falter on paying their dues even pre pandemic, their problems got aggravated in the Covid-19 era. A good amount of money was outstanding even before. But since the rolling of the money was good, people were not even really bothered. It’s only when the rolling stopped that the problem got highlighted.”
Rs. 700 crore debt
The Economic Times report claimed that the company’s current debt is more than Rs. 700 crore and quoted a source that it tried to grow very fast, though it never had the financial might like PVR, INOX or Cinepolis. However, it is surprising that it took so long for the bubble to burst.
Gaurav Gupta said, “During the first lockdown, we had put out news that Carnival is not deducting salaries or won’t fire anyone. So I was getting all the stories done at a time when the company was not paying me! I felt that it was my duty to support the company where I have worked for the last 5 years.” He signed off by saying, “You were not reading anything about the problems means main theek se kaam kar raha tha!”
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