A section of workers making brassware art for Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation’s handicrafts store, says that they have not received regular salary since April.
A total of 14 workers petitioned Collector T.G. Vinay here on Tuesday. They have been making brass lamps, bells and gift articles for the store for years.
P. Babu, who has worked for 33 years, says he, along with 13 others, was regularised in 2017. “Still, we earn on a ‘piece-rate’ basis. Before COVID-19, when we had around 26 days of work, we received between ₹ 5,000 and ₹ 6,000 a month. During the lockdown, we received only ₹ 2,000 in April and ₹ 5,000 in July. There was no explanation as whether this was a salary or a stipend or aid,” he said.
Despite years of working at the organisation, he is unable to understand why the State government would not support the workers. “We are craftsmen. We have no other way to earn any income,” he said.
Madurai General Secretary, CITU, G. S. Amarnath, said ₹ 7,500 is hardly enough to help any of these families. “The government must pay them a stipend during the lockdown. They must receive time-scale pay,” he said.
