New Delhi: Several persons with disabilities employed at Mitti Cafe outlets at Hansraj College and Rashtrapati Bhavan have alleged that they were fired without being given a “valid reason” and were subjected to “inappropriate language and behaviour” by managerial staff.The Mitti Cafe management has denied the allegations and said the action against its employees was taken based on alleged “misappropriation of funds, alcohol consumption on duty and repeated misconduct”. It also denied terminating any employee from its Rashtrapati Bhavan outlet, saying an incorrect outlet reference on one employee’s letterhead was a clerical error.The employees who spoke to TOI have denied the allegations and claimed that no formal inquiry was conducted before they were held responsible for any violations.Mitti Cafe is a non-profit organisation whose stated objective is to create employment and sustainable livelihoods for persons with disabilities. According to its website, it seeks institutional support to further this cause, with partners providing cafe spaces either rent-free or at subsidised rates and also covering their set-up costs besides donations.The organisation has 72 cafes across India and employs 600 people with physical, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.A visually impaired NIOS student, who also works at Mitti Cafe’s Hansraj College outlet, said: “I come from a lower-income family in Uttar Pradesh. I live in Burari on rent. I have no other source of income. They suddenly terminated me and forced me to affix my thumb impression on the termination letter… How will I survive? The manager would regularly use abusive language and mistreat us, but no action was ever taken against him.”Another employee, with 70% visual impairment, said he had worked at Mitti’s Gurgaon outlet for about three years before being transferred to the Rashtrapati Bhavan outlet, where he worked for about six months before being served a termination notice. “I don’t know what went wrong. They just removed me one day, out of nowhere. The managerial staff would mistreat us and use foul language whenever we raised objections,” he said.Another terminated employee at the Hansraj College outlet, who said she has a physical disability and has worked with the management for several years, said she has not heard about the promised transition support during the notice period. “My mother is terminally ill, and I am the only source of income for my family,” she said.One termination notice, seen by TOI, cites “performance and current requirement of the organisation” as the reason for the termination and states that the organisation would “make efforts to assist you in finding suitable placement opportunities outside the organisation”. The notice also promises transition support during the notice period.Mitti Cafe confirmed that the services of six people had been terminated, while three others had been told they would be transferred to new outlets as they open. Mitti founder Alina Alam told TOI that while the letter refers to performance, the underlying reason in the case was alleged financial misconduct.“We work for creating opportunities for the persons with special needs who are already tabooed against. We didn’t want to mention theft or misappropriation as the reason, which could hamper their future employment opportunities,” she said.Mitti, in an email response, cited alleged misappropriation of funds in two cases; wilful negligence leading to operational lapses and losses in a third; alleged misappropriation of funds and consumption of alcohol while in uniform in public premises in a fourth; alleged misappropriation of funds/stocks in a fifth; and repeated misconduct, including fighting with colleagues in front of customers and complaints from fellow employees, in the sixth case.The organisation said the management had for several months observed discrepancies between inventory and billed sales. According to Mitti, internal inquiries, customer feedback and statements from other employees indicated instances in which food was allegedly served without bills, cash from such sales was allegedly shared among those involved and, in one instance, a customer alerted management that a personal QR code had allegedly been used instead of the cafe’s official payment QR code. Mitti said the employees had previously received warning letters.Mitti has also rejected the allegation that a visually impaired employee was forced to provide a thumb impression. On the allegations of abusive behaviour, Mitti said the managers concerned, “many of whom are themselves persons with disabilities”, had denied using abusive language or behaving inappropriately but an enquiry would be conducted “if credible evidence or a formal complaint was brought before it”.
