CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) on Monday rolled out the bottle buy-back system in six more districts, Chennai, Tiruvallur, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem and Tiruchy. However, the move has faced strong opposition, with the employees refusing to collect empty liquor bottles from customers.
They have demanded the appointment of additional staff in all 4,829 retail outlets across the state. In several districts, including Thanjavur, Tiruchy and Madurai, salespersons went on leave and also staged protests against the scheme.
T Dhanasekaran, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Tasmac Employees Association (AITUC), told TNIE, “The buy-back bottle system has been implemented in 1,829 shops across 15 districts. But most shops already face shortage of staff. During peak hours, the workers are struggling to handle customers. In such a situation, how can we take on this extra work?”
He further urged the government to either appoint more workers in all liquor shops or hand over bottle collection work to private players through tender. Meanwhile, talks between the employees’ association and Tasmac officials failed on Monday.
A supervisor from a city Tasmac outlet, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “In many urban outlets, there is no space to store empty bottles. At times, it becomes very difficult to even sit inside. Whenever new schemes are introduced, proper infrastructure is needed. But no step has been taken.”
Meanwhile, a senior Tasmac official confirmed that there is no plan to appoint extra staff for the buy-back scheme. “The court has clearly directed us to implement the system in all outlets to protect the environment,” the official said. However, no assurance was given regarding the employees’ demands, including medical benefits.