With the marriage season round the corner,the state labour ministry plans to crack down on clubs and event managers that hire underage waiters. Such practices have been going on for a long time. We are chalking out a plan to deal with the problem. But to put a stop to it in an organised fashion,we need adequate funds,which the central government is not allotting, said labour minister Purnendu Basu. Basu added that reputed clubs in the city,along with smaller ones,were guilty of the offence. The punishment could be fine,jail or both, he said. In a recent investigation,The Indian Express found that schoolchildren were taking part-time jobs as waiters with unscrupulous caterers and event managers,in some cases to finance their addiction to drugs and other narcotic substances. A 14-year-old student of a government school in Howrah said,I come to Princep Ghat with my friends to smoke. On one such outing,we met Rajesh Bhaiya who said he would pay each of us Rs 100,beside free food and drinks,if we worked for him. It has now become a regular affair, he said. It was the same story with a 15-year-old slum dweller and a student of Class VII. He said he was taken regularly to Nalban for parties. I go there for weddings and parties and serve drinks. Late in the night,I can have a sip or two, he said. Another 15-year-old spoke of regular late night assignments. I live near Dhakuria Lake and get a pick-up and drop. I have been to posh clubs as well as smaller parties, he said. Some club authorities did not deny the practice. When we let out the premises,customers bring in their own caterers and waiters. We dont check whether they are bringing underage waiters, said S K Noor Alam,banquet manager,Lake Land Country Club. Sanjeev Ghosh,GM,Springfield Projects Pvt Ltd,too,that he had heard of such things but his clubs followed stringent rules against such practices. We are very strict about these malpractices. It is not only illegal but unethical as well, he said. Bunty Sethi,owner of a number of nightclubs and restaurants,said the practice was common but he refrained from it for the sake of quality. We need skilled hands to serve and not amateurs, he said.
