CHENNAI: The CPM, CPI, CPI (ML) and VCK on Wednesday urged Chief Minister M K Stalin to intervene and arrive at an amicable solution to the long-pending demands of Tasmac employees and other sections of protesting workers.
The statement was signed by CPM state secretary P Shanmugam, CPI state secretary M Veerapandian, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan and CPI (ML) state secretary Pazha Asaithambi.
In a joint statement, the parties said the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac), through which the state government retails liquor, has been generating substantial revenue for the exchequer, contributing nearly one-third of the state’s tax income over the past 23 years. Despite this, Tasmac employees continue to work under insecure and unsafe conditions, they said.
The statement recalled that during the previous AIADMK regime, Tasmac workers were neglected and their demands for job regularisation, time-scale pay and pension were not addressed. The employees had hoped that the present government would fulfil these long-standing demands, but were disappointed, forcing them to resort to continuous protests, it said.
The parties cautioned the government against viewing agitating workers, including Tasmac employees, part-time teachers, noon-meal workers and anganwadi staff, as adversaries. Instead, they urged the government to engage with them constructively.
The joint statement appealed to the CM to personally intervene and initiate dialogue to resolve the demands of all sections of protesting workers in a fair and amicable manner.