The Hari Krishna company, a diamond polishing company, located in Surat, recently decided to give bonuses to its employees during Diwali. The total bonus value was 500 million rupees (over 8 million USD) and included diamonds, Fiat Punto Cars, and apartments. The gift was distributed among 1,200 employees who received whichever of the three they didn’t already own. This may seem like a generous decision on the part of the company, and the Indian and International media definitely took it as such, but in reality the gift was a classic example of business exploitation.

First, although the numbers may sound huge to most people, if you evaluate it in the context of the company it is not as impressive. The company has 6,000 employees and an annual revenue of 60 billion rupees. The bonuses are not a simple act of benevolence, but incentive payments to get the employees to work harder.

He describes the strategy best:

“We created the hunger among the employees – they work better, they take home better incentives,” Dholakia said

Clearly, Dholakia doesn’t see this solely as an act of making people happier, or making someone’s Diwali joyful, but as a way to make sure that his poorly paid employees have an incentive to work. Now the other 80% of the employees can also realize it’s their fault they aren’t getting these amazing “gifts”, and they should work harder.

The sad reality is that the only reason the company exists and functions is because of the work of the employees. The employees play a large role in the profit that the company brings in, and it only makes sense that they should get a portion of it for their work. This isn’t someone giving money they earned to someone else; this is someone giving some of the money they made off of exploiting people back to them. And, yes, “exploitation” is the right word here. Exploitation is when you use someone or something in an unfair manner for your personal benefit. The company clearly does so.

All our dreams have come true only through our workers. A target was set for all the employees and they have achieved it. This is a big day for the entire Hari Krishna family. Today all these employees of the company have strengthened the fundamental moral of the company and of the diamond industry proving to the world that they are capable of fulfilling their dreams. The company’s growth lies in the employee’s dedication toward their work by giving it their heart and soul, 100 percent, and to further motivate and encourage them, the company rewarded them,” said the company owner, Savji Dholakia.

The owner is shy to admit the method he is using or why he is doing so. Why then is the media ignoring the truth and overplaying him to be some kind of philanthropist? Giving people what they deserve should not be making the news. Instead, the media should be covering the countless workers who didn’t get a decent, if not fair, share of the revenue they helped generate this year.

[Image Attribute: Hare Krishna Exports]