DHARMAPURI/TIRUPUR: Two days after a TASMAC staff was hacked to death amidst a robbery, members of TASMAC Employees Association shut down all outlets to stage a one-day protest across the State. Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri too saw such protests.
In Dharmapuri, over 200 employees picketed a warehouse on the Dharmapuri-Salem highway, demanding implementation of their four-point demand. They wanted working timings to be reduced by two hours and be limited to 12 pm to 8 pm. The remaining time could be used to handle the day’s collection. So far, after shops close at 10 pm, staff have to work late into the night and become easy targets for robbery, they pointed out.
They also wanted officials to set up a pick up system for daily collections; this way, the day’s earnings are directly collected by some government staff at closing time.
Similar protests broke out in Krishnagiri near the Anna statue, where employees under the banner of the association’s State Vice President Muthukumaran staged a protest. They demanded a government job for a member of the dead employee’s family, besides a compensation of `25 lakh. Muthukumaran added that over 2,962 TASMAC outlets across the State have been shut down and over 12,000 staff are boycotting their duties as part of the stir.
It was the attack on one Raja (42), of Cauvery Nagar near Tiruchy, that spurred this State-wide protest. He was employed at Gurubarapalli TASMAC outlet in Krishnagiri. In the late hours of Wednesday, as he was closing up the shop, he was attacked by a few unknown individuals and robbed of the day’s collection of `1.5 lakh. The man died on the spot.
‘Unsafe work environment’
A protest was staged in front of the godown of Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation near Angeripalayam in Tirupur.
As part of the protest, several TASMAC outlets remained closed. CITU-TASMAC (Tirupur) Secretary Anbu said, “Though the government has decided to offer compensation to Raja’s family, we are concerned about safety at the workplace. Many TASMAC outlets are located at places far from the city or town. Since most of the retail shops are closed in the late hours, they attract the attention of anti-social elements. Hence, lack of workplace safety is a primary concern.”