Tasmac employees’ one-day strike shuts 213 outlets in Coimbatore district, hits Rs 8.5crore sales

COIMBATORE: A one-day strike by Tasmac employees led to the closure of 213 liquor retail outlets across Coimbatore district on Wednesday, disrupting sales estimated at Rs 8.5 crore, officials and union representatives said.John, convenor of the Coimbatore Zone Tasmac Joint Action Committee, said employees have been working for 23 years without statutory social security and without permanent employment status as in other departments. Though wages have been revised around 20 times in these 23 years, many workers still draw only about Rs 15,000 a month, he said, calling it reflective of their precarious condition.He alleged that workers are forced to spend from their own pockets for operational expenses such as electricity bills, shop rent and payments to labourers for unloading bottles.He flagged the absence of compensation for collecting empty bottles, claiming that the financial pressure contributes to violations of MRP norms. He cited lack of proper toilets and inadequate space at outlets, forcing staff to work in cramped conditions.John said successive governments shut some Tasmac shops after coming to power, but employees from closed outlets are typically redeployed to locations that already have surplus manpower.

He pointed to an imbalance in staffing, claiming that against 4,200 supervisor posts, around 7,000 personnel are in place.The committee demanded that employees from shuttered outlets be accommodated in alternative departments based on educational qualification and preference, and that the empty bottle return scheme be handed over to private agencies. Other demands include an eight-hour workday, regularisation of jobs, weekly holidays and ESI benefits.