CHENNAI: Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh on Monday held talks with representatives of Tasmac employees over their proposed strike and assured them that the government would make satisfactory announcements during the department’s demand for grants.
The employees have announced a strike from August 28, pressing for a series of long-pending demands, including permanent employment, regular pay scales, pension benefits, withdrawal of the compulsory empty liquor bottle buy-back scheme, rotational transfers, alternative postings and implementation of rights guaranteed under labour laws.
During Monday’s meeting, Vignesh said the government was considering some of the demands that had been raised by Tasmac employees for the past 23 years. He appealed to the employees to wait until August 31, when the demand for grants for the Prohibition and Excise Department would be taken up in the Assembly.
The minister said the announcements would address some of the employees’ concerns and provide them with a satisfactory outcome. The proposed strike had prompted the Labour Department to intervene and urge the Tasmac management and employees to resolve the issues through negotiations.
As part of the process, a tripartite meeting (Tasmac management, employees, and the labour department) was held last Friday at the Labour Commissioner’s office in Chennai. During the meeting, it was decided that representatives of the employees’ unions would hold talks with the minister on August 24 to find an amicable solution to their demands.
The second round of tripartite talks is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.