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– U.Bharath (cbedit@imaws.org)
With differing job scenarios and change of working trends, Karaikudi hoteliers seek for a change in the way EPF is functioning. In India, the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) is compulsory for restaurant owners if they have more than 20 employees, as per the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. For restaurant owners, the EPF contribution is part of their legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment and fair compensation.
Karaikudi City Hoteliers and Restaurant Association has over 80 members, and most restaurants serve unique Chettinad cuisine. The world-famous Chettinad cuisine and recipes originated from the Nagarathar mercantile community, and it is now the signature dish of the region.
Karaikudi is situated at the heart of the Chettinad region, a cluster of 79 Nagarathar towns and villages. The city is traditionally known for its unique food varieties and Chettinad-style architecture. The city now boasts a bustling traditional building materials market, which also attracts buyers and visitors from all over Tamil Nadu, helping to grow the restaurant business’s customer base. In an exclusive chat with Kitchen Herald, P. Palanivel ( alias) Velu, Secretary of Karaikudi City Hoteliers and Restaurant Association speaks on the issue.
Kitchen Herald: Functioning at the heart of the Chettinad region in Karaikudi in South India, how has the restaurant business evolved over the years in Karaikudi and also in the Sivaganga district of which Karaikudi is the headquarters?
Palanivel: The restaurant business has witnessed ups and downs due to Corona epidemic in recent years. While the luxury segment and small roadside eateries are doing brisk business, the middle-level restaurants in the city are yet to fully recover from the Corona slump in business.
Corona years were a big blow to the service industries including the restaurant business. Some of the most affected sectors during that lean period were airlines, theatres and restaurants, I would say that the restaurant business in the Karaikudi and Sivaganga district, is yet to recover fully from the Corona slump in business. However, we are hopeful that the business will thrive in 2025 and fetch us more revenue to us.
Kitchen Herald: What are the professional hazards and challenges faced by restaurant business owners?
Palanivel: One of the challenges we are facing now is the pressure from EPF officials to enlist all our employees in the EPF scheme, which is not a practical proposition. Our workers are formed into different categories including daily wagers, contract workers and permanent workers. While we can afford to remit the EPF amount for the permanent workers, daily wagers could not be included in this category of beneficiaries.
However, officials are pressuring us to enrol every one of our workers in the Provident Fund, which we are resisting. When some workers including daily wagers leave the job without any prior intimation, how could we afford to remit the EPF money from our own pockets for this segment of the temporary workers?
While we are ready to enrol our permanent employees in EPF, the daily wagers cannot be included. Moreover, enrolling in the EPF scheme should be voluntary from the employees’ side and it should not be a compulsory one.
Many workers are not ready to give 12% of their basic salary to the EPF, which is also a worrisome factor, so we have to pay from our own pockets. We are of the view, that if the officials persist with their demand, we are left with no other option, but to approach the courts to come to an amicable solution for this problem facing us.
Kitchen Herald: How has the rising inflation affected the restaurant business?
Palanivel: We have been much affected by the rising inflation. Earlier a bag Maida cost Rs.1200 but it commands a price of Rs.2500. For non-vegetarian outlets this is a huge burden. Broiler chicken which was sold for Rs.70 a few years back has risen to Rs.120 per kg. Restaurants can’t raise the prices for fear of losing patrons.
The non-vegetarian restaurants do good business only for three months starting from January every year. They are affected by the loss of business due to various religious penance periods such as Sabarimala season, Aadi season, and Pradosham. So, the business is not good during these periods.
Kitchen Herald: As the Karaikudi region is famous for Chettinad recipes, tell us more about the unique cuisine?
Palanivel: It is a traditional type of cooking which is unique to the Karaikudi region. The cooking recipes and formulas have been fine-tuned over the centuries by the Nagarathar community, who have business interests in various Southeast Asian nations and Burma. The traditional knowledge has been passed on down the generations and it entered the restaurant business. Chettinad cuisine is known for its rich flavours and they are prepared with freshly- ground spices.
Now, our cuisine has spread all over the world and it has become one of the most popular sought-after South Indian recipes.
Kitchen Herald: Have you taken up the modernization of the kitchen in your member restaurants?
30% of kitchen equipment are electrical appliances including vegetable cutters. It is an ongoing process due to the cost factor involved. Most of them use only gas stoves, solar or induction stoves. But the transition has been a slow one.
Only a few restaurants in certain regions in the district such as Singampunari and Tiruppathur have joined hands with our district association, and when that is achieved we could expect them to go for mechanized and modernised kitchens.
Kitchen Herald: Is it true that restaurant owners are blackmailed by certain unscrupulous elements among YouTubers?
Palanivel: Yes, they often threaten us with videos made without our knowledge. Even dishes are videographed slyly and posted online, claiming inadequacy and other factors. Another major menace is tipplers from state-run TASMAC liquor outlets that barge into dining and pick up quarrels with the restaurant staff. We are dealing with these mischief-mongers on a day-to-day basis., without ever complaining of it.
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