Caught in association–contractor dispute, Bengaluru apartment workers go unpaid
Left with no wages for nearly two months, workers employed at Candeur Signature apartments in Bengaluru’s Varthur area gathered outside the gated community on W
www.thenewsminute.com
The disruption to payments has unfolded amid a dispute between Candeur Signature apartment association, where the workers are employed, and Unix Conglomerate Private Limited, which provides labour services.
Left with no wages for nearly two months, workers employed at Candeur Signature apartments in Bengaluru’s Varthur area gathered outside the gated community on Wednesday, December 24. The payment disruption unfolded amid a dispute between the apartment association and the labour service provider, leaving workers engaged in housekeeping, gardening, garbage disposal and other jobs, without money for food, rent or medical care.
The protest followed 12 days of work stoppage. Workers, most of whom are migrants from West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Nepal, said they were repeatedly denied entry into the premises despite being formally employed at Candeur.
Many said they were walking five to six kilometres each day from their homes, only to be turned away at the gate. The uncertainty has worsened the mental health of the workers, with one of them attempting death by suicide.
Women workers also raised concerns about being denied access to the washrooms inside the premises. “We are women, but we were not even allowed inside the apartment premises to use the washroom. We cleaned their homes every day for several months, but now they act like they don’t see us standing here every day,” said Kashmira, a worker from West Bengal, who called the experience deeply dehumanising.
‘No money to pay rent, no safety’
Over 40 workers are employed at the complex, which houses 1300 apartments. The workers are hired through Unix Conglomerate Private Limited, a facility management service provider operating across Bengaluru. Each worker earns about Rs 15,000 a month. The dispute between the apartment association and Unix has left workers to bear the immediate consequences.
Following the dispute and non-payment, many workers were forced to vacate their rooms due to non-payment of rent. Sangeetha, a worker from Nepal, said she had been living alone before she was asked to leave her room. “I am staying with a friend for a few days, but if something were to happen to me, who would be responsible for my safety?” she asked.
While some workers managed to find temporary support, others were left with no options. Parjoy, a worker from Assam, said he had no relatives or acquaintances in the city. “My landlord forced me to vacate. I do not know anyone here, and I have nowhere to go,” he said.
The delay in wages has also compounded existing personal crises.
Mrityunjay, from Uttar Pradesh, said his five-year-old daughter was hospitalised with a high fever. “Without my salary, I could not afford her treatment. I had to borrow money from friends and family just to pay the hospital bills,” he said.
Workers said the prolonged uncertainty had taken a severe toll on their mental health as well. They said one of their colleagues, Ramesh, had earlier attempted to take his own life after repeated delays in payment.
“That is how bad things have become for us. The company informs us that the society has not paid them, which is why they can’t pay us. How is that fair?” said another worker, Malik, adding that the fear and desperation continued to loom large over the group.
“We are being forced to bear the consequences of a fight between the apartment association and the management company,” said Ghanshyam Yadav, a worker from Bihar. “Our work has already been done. Our wages cannot be treated as collateral damage in a commercial dispute.”
Labour Department refuses to step in
R Kaleemullah, a Bengaluru-based activist who works with migrant labourers, was present at the protest and said that institutional responses had offered little relief. He stated that a letter seeking intervention had been submitted to the Labour Department, but the officials declined to accept it. “They said the workers do not come under their purview. Even if that is their technical position, these are still human beings. How can the government turn away after the issue has been brought to its notice?” he asked.
Kaleemullah said the police had also refused to register a complaint, directing workers to approach the courts instead.
The lack of housing, workers said, remained their most urgent concern. “It doesn’t matter if we don’t get food to eat, but shelter is what matters,” Ghanshyam said. “How can we survive without a roof over our heads?”
Kaleemullah said attempts to engage with lawyers representing the parties involved had been equally dispiriting. “We were told a decision would be taken only after the court gives its verdict. Everyone knows such cases can drag on for years. How are workers expected to survive without pay until then?” he asked.
“This is not just legal apathy; it is moral apathy. The labour has already been extracted. Withholding wages while waiting for a court order is indefensible.”
Unix shifts blame to association
Responding to the allegations, Unix Conglomerate said the non-payment of wages was linked to delays by the apartment association following a change in its managing committee, but acknowledged that workers had now gone without pay for nearly two months.
Muralidharan K, the company’s public relations officer, said the association had been “consistently delaying our payments for the last three to three-and-a-half months,” adding that the firm had continued paying workers despite late remittances. “For us, our employees matter. Even when payments came on the 24th or 25th, we still paid salaries by the 10th,” he said, but admitted the company had now “reached a saturation limit”.
Unix said the situation deteriorated after the association issued a termination notice in October and withheld dues for the notice period as well, despite what the company claimed was a court direction to clear payments. The firm denied allegations of invoice discrepancies, calling them “purposely created”, and said it had repeatedly offered to accept partial payments so workers could be paid.
“Whatever you want to hold, hold a small amount and clear the rest,” Muralidharan said, adding that workers were being “dragged into a fight between the previous and present association committees”.
On workers being denied entry and basic facilities, Unix said the association had engaged external agencies in violation of a status quo order. “The women workers were not even allowed inside to use washrooms. This is the kind of cruelty they are putting on our people,” Muralidharan said.
However, despite claiming to have held dozens of meetings with residents and officials, Unix said it was yet to receive any payment as of December 25, leaving both the firm and its workers in distress. “Our people have worked. They have to be paid,” he said.
Association claims delay is not new
Meanwhile, the Candeur Signature Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) said the contract with Unix was terminated due to dissatisfaction with the overall quality and reliability of services. Ram Chandra Patidar, the association’s president said a one-month termination notice was issued as provided under the agreement on October 26 after repeated service-related concerns were flagged.
He added that even before the termination, workers had been approaching the association alleging delayed salaries. “The termination followed due process under the contract, but the problem of workers not being paid existed even before that,” he said.
However, when TNM spoke to the workers they said this was the first time that payment was delayed.
According to the RWA, security staff were unpaid for two consecutive months, September and October, leading to strikes as early as mid-October. Ram said workers repeatedly sought the association’s intervention after salaries were delayed. “This was happening well before the termination notice was issued. Workers kept approaching the association because they had not been paid for two months,” he said.
Ram added that the RWA offered to directly pay workers if Unix provided written consent and revised its invoices accordingly. “We were ready to release wages immediately to 30–35 workers if the contractor agreed in writing. But that did not happen,” Ram said, noting that invoices were later revised after discrepancies were flagged. He added that under the agreement, the association has a 30-day window to clear payments from the date of a valid invoice.
“I strongly supported direct payment to the workers. If Unix had agreed in writing, we could have paid all 35 workers within a single day. Unix chose to escalate the issue instead, sending legal notices, approaching the court, and orchestrating strikes. Ultimately, while payment to Unix will be made as per contractual obligations, our concern remains whether the workers will actually receive their salaries,” Ram said.
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