CHENNAI: Thousands of employees of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) went on a three-hour strike from 12 pm to 3 pm on Monday, pressing for time-scale pay and other service benefits on par with government servants. The protest led to the closure of a large number of retail liquor outlets across the state, causing inconvenience to customers and a sharp drop in sales during strike hours. The three-hour strike was announced earlier by 20 associations.
According to Tasmac data accessed by TNIE, as many as 3,435 of the total 4,749 retail liquor shops remained closed during the strike, accounting for nearly 72% of outlets. In several districts, including Nagercoil, Tiruvallur, Theni, Arakkonam, Vellore, Pudukkottai and Thoothukudi, no Tasmac shops functioned during the protest hours.
However, officials said that liquor sales resumed after 1 pm in some areas with the support of a few trade unions, including the DMK-affiliated Labour Progressive Federation (LPF). Despite this, normal operations were affected in many places, particularly in urban centres.
In Chennai and its suburbs, the impact of the strike was clearly visible. Out of the 228 liquor shops in and around the city, 189 did not open at the scheduled time of 12 noon. In some places where shops were opened later, long queues of waiting customers were spotted. TNIE, in its visit to areas such as Egmore, Chepauk and nearby localities, found many outlets closed, while those functioning faced heavy crowding.
Taking advantage of the situation, a few outlets allegedly sold liquor at higher prices. Popular beer and brandy brands were reportedly sold at almost double their usual rates, prompting customer complaints.
Meanwhile, more than 500 Tasmac employees who took part in a continuous protest on LG Road in Chennai were arrested by the police and lodged at the armed reserve police camp at Parangimalai. Similar protests were reported from various parts of the state.
Reacting to the stir, Minister for Prohibition and Excise S Muthusamy told TNIE that discussions were being held with employees’ associations and steps were being taken to consider their demands.
N Periyasamy, president of the Tasmac Employees’ Association (affiliated to AITUC), said that nearly 10,000 employees participated in the three-hour strike, leading to the closure of most retail outlets. He said the associations had been demanding time-scale pay and other benefits for several years. “The minister assured us last month that our demands will be accepted, but no action has been taken so far,” he said.
Stating that the strike was employees’ last resort, Periyasamy appealed to Chief Minister M K Stalin to intervene and resolve the issue at the earliest.