CHENNAI: Staff at One Stop Centres (OSCs), which provide support to women facing violence and distress, are themselves struggling, with salaries pending for three months. Additionally, some staff said they have been borrowing money from family and friends to keep these centres running.
Salary delays have been a recurring problem for OSC staff, who once went without pay for six months in 2023.
Across the state, the salary delay has pressured the women to work without basic benefits such as maternity and sick leave. A staffer said that while a circular has been issued to approve maternity leave for OSC staff, it is not implemented uniformly across all centres, leaving access to maternity leave at the district social welfare officer’s discretion, often.
“Due to improper payment of salaries, many staff have quit. This is an area that requires expertise, and lack of continuity is a big problem,” she said.
Another staff member said the financial strain extended beyond their salaries. “We have to get money from family members or friends to keep the institution running. We have to provide food and clothes to women who come here,” she said.
Each OSC is sanctioned 13 personnel, taking the sanctioned strength across the state’s 59 centres to 767. August data accessed by TNIE show that the Sholinganallur OSC has only eight personnel, while Ezhil Nagar and Kannagi Nagar have 10 and nine, respectively. Both Salem centres have four vacancies each, while the second Chennai centre has five vacancies.
Social welfare department officials said salaries were usually released on time, but payments were delayed for about three months after the Centre restructured the payment system. The OSC is a component of Mission Shakti. It is 100% centrally sponsored and is being implemented by the social welfare department. Hence, the state government could not make the payment directly, an official said.
