By The Hindu Bureau

Copyright thehindu

Transport Corporation workers would further intensify their protest, if the State Government failed to meet their demands, said CITU State president A. Soundararajan.

After inaugurating the 33rd day wait-in protest of the transport corporation workers here on Friday, he said that if the workers were demanding more than what they were getting, the government could claim that it would face financial loss.

“But, when the government was denying the workers what they deserved to get 25 months ago, then it is a big injustice,” he said.

The Government had sent workers, who had retired from the transport corporations 24 months ago, empty handed without any pensionary benefits. The money due for the workers was with the government which was being denied. The workers should be given their pending dues so that the pensioners could celebrate the Deepavali festival happily.

Even after the court directed the government, it has denied dearness allowance meant for the pensioners for the last nine years, he said.

The DMK government was only following what the previous government had failed to do. The pensioners were demanding health insurance scheme by deducting money for the premium from their pension. However, the government has denied even that.

Without the consent of CITU, the government has increased the period of wage revision settlement from every three years to four years, thereby denying the workers their increment for 12 months.

The government was trying to privatise transport corporations against its ideology, he charged. Ensuring social justice through employment could be done only by allowing existence of public sector units, Mr. Soundararajan said.

“Since, the DMK has failed to implement its poll promises with regard to welfare of transport workers, the protest will intensify,” he said.