Over 80 staff members of the Anna Centenary Library in Kotturpuram protested on Friday morning demanding regularisation and benefits such as paid maternity leave and compensatory holidays for working on government holidays.
Among those protesting were assistant librarians and information officers, librarians and grade I and grade II information assistants.
“It is almost three years since we were recruited through a Teacher Recruitment Board examination in 2010, but we have not been made permanent or given any benefits like provident fund, annual increment, or compensatory holidays despite making several representations. We are not against the government, we only want to bring it to their notice,” said K. Manikandan, secretary of the Anna Centenary Library Employees Welfare Association. Employees pointed out that issues arose because rules have not been framed yet to govern the employees.
Female employees, who went on maternity leave, said that though they got six months leave, they lost their pay for the period. “Four of us faced such a situation,” said one of the employeeswho went on unpaid maternity leave in 2012. “Though there are 24 State government holidays, we get only eight days of leave, and no compensatory holidays,” said another employee who did not want to be named. The secretary said around 10 employees left their jobs, because of uncertainty in the working conditions.
They dispersed at noon after a senior official addressed them, said Mr. Manikandan. “We were told we would be given compensatory holidays hereafter. We were also told the other demands would be considered,” he said. A school education department official said the government was working on the demands.
