Bombay Parsi Punchayet employees to observe mass casual leave on Tuesday

Nearly 230 class four employees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) will be going on mass casual leave today. This is due to the non payment of bonus. The union had earlier threatened to go on strike last week if they bonus is not given. They had also stated that they will be celebrating a toned down Parsi New Year.

Those who will be going for mass casual leave exclude employees at Punchayet office but include Khandias who work at the Doongerwadi. Doongerwadi in Malabar Hill or Tower of Silence, as it is popularly known, is a place where Parsis put their dead. Only Khandias are allowed to put bodies in Dokhmas (the place where the body is kept) which is inside Doongerwadi.

"It is unfortunate and we are sad to do something like this but we were left with no other choice. The Punchayet has not even bothered replying to our letters that were sent to them," said Dhunji Naterwalla, general secretary of Mumbai Mazdoor Union of which employees of BPP are members. Trustees of the Punchayet had last time alleged that it was due to other members that the issue could not be resolved.