CAIT seeks reconsideration of private office closure order in Delhi

New Delhi [India], January 11 : Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Tuesday urged the Delhi government to reconsider its decision of complete closure of private offices saying it will have an adverse impact on businesses and employment situation in the national capital region.
In a letter addressed to Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal, CAIT suggested that "instead of closure, it will be appropriate if 50 per cent capacity of the employees are allowed to work maintaining mandatory social distance and observing COVID safety protocols."
"It is further submitted that this order may be ordered to be applicable on corporate sector and not on the offices of traders and other small businesses," CAIT National Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in the letter.
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the national capital, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has directed that all private offices shall be closed except those that come under the exempted category.
Banks, insurance companies, courier services, non-banking financial corporations, and companies providing essential services will remain open. Earlier, private companies were allowed to function with 50 per cent of workforce.
CAIT said over 3 lakh offices operating in Delhi will be adversely affected from the DDMA order.
On the work from home, CAIT said, "there are a large number of traders who are operating their business activities through their offices and are not on digital mode. In such cases, the work from home policy will not work."