Date:02/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/02/stories/2008120258670300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Delay in salary disbursal irks TNSTC employees

L. Srikrishna

MADURAI: Employees of Madurai division of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), affiliated to various trade unions, are on a warpath owing to non-disbursal of salaries on Monday.

The management used to credit the salaries to its employees’ accounts enabling them to withdraw on the first of every month. However, citing various reasons, the disbursal has been delayed this month. This has irked a majority of workers.

Trade unions, including the CITU, AITUC, INTUC and HMS, have urged the management to release the salary by December 2 failing which they have threatened to announce their next course of action.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting attended by all these employees’ unions, except that of the DMK and the AIADMK.

They have made a representation to the TNSTC Managing Director jointly under the banner of Federation of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (Madurai Division) Employees’ Unions.

According to the office-bearers, in the last 31 years, the increase in dearness allowance (DA) would be credited to the salaries once in three months.

However, this time, the management had stopped the practice of including the DA in the individual employee’s salary slips.

Though the management had assured to pay the salaries by December 4, clear the DA arrears by December 15 and disburse salaries on the first from next month, the federation’s representatives expressed unhappiness over the development.

At a time when the employees were seeking swift disbursal of arrears of Provident Fund, pension and other benefits the Corporation owed to them, the delay in disbursing salary came as a rude shock, they said.

“By withholding the daily collections, which normally would be remitted in the bank, the salaries are likely to be disbursed to employees in the next two to three days,” union representatives who attended the meeting said.

In Nagercoil

Even as the work force in Madurai decided to wait until December 4, the employees in Nagercoil division expressed their protest. According to the federation members here, as the news spread that salaries had not been credited, the employees stayed away from work. The timely intervention of the Revenue Divisional Officer saved a crisis. After about two hours of “stop work,” they resumed their duty, the members claimed.