Beauty Salon Owners And Employees Haunted by COVID Led Economic Loss

Beauty salon owner face big losses: After COVID impact in 2020, the slight comeback of the economy in 2021 gave hope to salon owners and their employees. The festive season also saw a lift in business but then the comeback of Omicron has caused a body blow.

"They (the West Bengal Government) have kept bars open with 50 percent occupancy limit but closed us (salons) down completely. How is it fair? How will I pay my employees now?"asked an angry salon owner at Azadgarh in Kolkata asked her customers on January 2.

The West Bengal Government on January 2 this year announced a partial lockdown till January 15 to curb the coronavirus cases. The government in its order stated that gyms, swimming pools, beauty salons, spas, wellness centres, amongst others will remain close. Shopping malls and marketing complexes, restaurants and bars, cinema halls and theatre halls may function with 50 percent capacity.

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The salon owner from Azadgarh (who wishes to remain anonymous) is just one of the hundreds of women salon owners, renters and employees who have been economically hit by the series of lockdowns, partial lockdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic. The small beauty parlours in the corner of localities with blond-haired foreigners posing on its nameplate have either shut down completely or are painfully striving.

"Mall, bars are open. After 10, on a regular day, not many people go. They have suddenly closed down the parlours. Many people work here too. This is a source of income for many women. If malls and bars can be kept open in a 50 percent cap then even we could have been kept open with a similar restriction. They could have asked smaller ones to only let two or three entries at a time," said the parlour owner in Azadgarh.

During the first lockdown in 2020, she had a rented room that operated as a beauty parlour for women. The rent was Rs 10,000 and she has to pay a salary to her two women employees, whose livelihood depended on it. After years of saving, she decided to get her own parlour as paying rent for a closed shop was economically not viable.

Even though she does not have to pay rent, she has to pay her employees monthly. Her income depends on day to day business. Some days the earning runs dry and other days she manages to earn in four digits. The services provided in the parlour is a lot cheaper than the bigger and branded salons. For example, a hair wash and dry would cost Rs 100 here and in a bigger salon, the same service would cost Rs 500.

Most of these beauty salons are owned by women and run by women workers. They are either running their family through the income or sustaining their own life in a city away from home. According to the owners and employees that SheThePeople spoke with, they do not have an association to seek help or organise and approach the government with the demands.

"There is no salon owner’s association and the only way to keep in contact is through friends and social circles in the business. But since there is no structure or organisation, it becomes difficult to voice problems," said 40-year-old Indrani Mahata, a beautician in Durgapur to SheThePeople.

Mahata used to run a salon on rent with her sister in the steel town of Durgapur in West Bengal. She and her sister opened the salon in 2010. The sisters' earnings were decent enough to run the house and keep savings for future needs.

"Durgapur is a small town. When I started my career as a beautician, I thought that it is a viable career option that I can build stronger over time. But as years passed, I witnessed the rise in competition as almost every household had one girl or woman taking up a career as a beautician," Mahata said.

It was functioning well until COVID-19 hit her and the clients disappeared. Lockdown was the final blow. She was paying Rs 3500 rent for the space regardless of being shut. Finally, she could not shell out money and had to close down in 2020.

In her family, it is Mahata, her younger sister and her elderly parents. The salon was the source of income for the two sisters. After the lockdown was lifted and people were still scared to step out, they called them home for the service and she started providing home service.

Mahata now runs her livelihood on client customers than regular. In her lingo, client customers are old and known ones who have been coming to her or calling her for service for a long time now and call her once in three or two months.

But each time COVID hit and the lockdown was declared, her meagre pay dwindled. In the partial lockdown that was declared, she can not imagine going to people’s places even if she can. "I have elderly people in my home, I cannot risk their life," Mahata said.

The number of coronavirus cases has spiked in the past few days. The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee is going to hold a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 7 over the rising cases in West Bengal and the health concern. On Thursday, Bengal registered 15,421 fresh cases. According to the state COVID-19 bulletin data, the number of active case counts has risen to 8,059 cases.

The number of people being hospitalised has also increased to 2,228 on Thursday from 2,009 on Wednesday. The death toll has touched 19,846 after 19 people died due to COVID-19 in a day.

SheThePeople had contacted the Chief Secretary of West Bengal, HK Dwivedi's office on the health concerns pertaining to closing down of salons but got no response. The copy will be updated as and when the approached office responds.

As per the circular, "after a review of the current situations of COVID-19 pandemic and the concerns due to high rate of infectivity and multiple cases of a new COVID-19 variant "Omicron", State Executive Committee of West Bengal State Disaster Management Authority recommended reviewing the current restrictions and relaxations."

For an employee at a salon in Siliguri in North Bengal, the thought of having to return home to Jaigaon, India's border town with Bhutan in West Bengal and once again sit without any income is unbearable. The 24-year-old hairstylist (who wishes to remain anonymous) gets a monthly pay of Rs 13,000 from her employees. With that money, she pays rent and bills, and stay in Siliguri.

"But if the payment stops, I will have to return to my home in Jaigaon, which has no job opportunity currently because of the Bhutan gate being shut. In Jaigaon, we get clients mostly from Bhutan but a pandemic has frozen that. I have worked there and the pay is way lesser too. There I get 6,000 as my monthly salary," she said to SheThePeople.

In case, the salon shuts down for a long period, asking for salary from the owners becomes awkward for her because their business is shut down too.“If their business is shut, how will they pay us?” she asked.

"Right now I am in Siliguri and will see what happens after January 15. If the lockdown is extended then I will have to return home," she said flatly.

Update: After five days of complete shut down of salons and beauty parlours in West Bengal, on January 8 the West Bengal Government finally announced a relaxation. Salons and beauty parlours across the state can now operate with 50 percent seating capacity up to 10 PM. However, the customers and staff need to be fully vaccinated, reported ANI.