Members of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Retired Employees’ Welfare Association (TNSTC REWA) laid siege to the Head Office of TNSTC Madurai Division here on Tuesday demanding immediate release of their retirement benefits.
R. Devaraj, General Secretary of Madurai division of the TNSTC REWA, alleged that the TNSTC had not even bothered to comply with the order of Madras High Court in June 2016, in which the TNSTC was directed to settle all the pending retirement benefits immediately in not more than 12 instalments.
“Most of us have only been given one instalment in full and another instalment in half,” he said, adding that the delay had resulted in trauma and distress for the retired employees, who were planning to meet important financial commitments with the money.
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He also accused the TNSTC of diverting the funds meant for retired employees for other purposes like maintenance and repair of vehicles. Claiming that the TNSTC had failed to protect the interests of 65,000 retired employees who toiled for it for more than 30 years, the protesters demanded that disbursement of retirement benefits and pension should be taken up directly by the State government.
They also demanded the government to provide health insurance coverage for all the retired employees.
The protesters said that they would go ahead with their plan to carry out a massive protest in February across the State if their demands were not met by then.
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