After businessman Bhavaguttu Raghuram Shetty (B.R Shetty), the founder of NMC Health in the UAE, was accused of flouting corporate governance rules, a city-based hospital which until recently was run by BR Life is allegedly in a fix. BR Life is a company owned by Mr. Shetty which also has hospitals in Udupi, Bhubaneswar, and Thiruvananthapuram.
SSNMC Super Speciality Hospital, located at Rajarajeshwarinagar, was run by BR Life with other stakeholders. After the scam in the UAE came to light, employees — many of whom were senior management members — allege many staffers who were part of the corporate office and the hospital were told to resign. Some senior managers pegged the number at least a 100.
One of the employees told The Hindu that they were left in the lurch. “Last week we were given oral instructions by BR Life to put in our papers. We were told that the company would clear our dues and pay for our notice period. Now, we are not even sure if we will get our dues,” he said.
He said that many of the employees had EMIs and other financial commitments. “The situation in our industry is already bad owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the lockdown, we don’t know when we will be able to find new jobs,” the employee said on the condition of anonymity.
Many doctors too who were appointed as staff of the hospital have reportedly been told that they would now get paid for the service they provide.
Another employee of BR Life said the company did not issue orders in writing as the State government had ordered that none of the employers can sack their employees. Several senior management members of the hospital that The Hindu spoke to said they were not longer associated with the company.
Shamanur Mallikarjun, former MLA who is also the joint secretary of Bapuji Education Association, said they were in the process of sorting out all the issues. “The hospital will continue to function and will be reopened again. We had given the hospital on lease and now we will take over the entire hospital,” he said.
Udupi-born and UAE-based billionaire businessman Mr. Shetty has been in the centre of the controversy over allegations of misappropriation of money and other fraudulent practices at NMC Health.
