The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation Workers’ Union, affiliated to All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), has welcomed the proposal to form a separate department to carry out public distribution in the State.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, its State general secretary C. Chandrakumar welcomed the proposal and exhorted the State government to consider handing over the responsibility of distributing ration commodities through PDS system to the Civil Supplies Corporation.
Stating that necessary infrastructure and other facilities required to carry out the exercise was already available with the Corporation, he claimed that the Corporation stands out as the best unit among the agencies involved in civil supplies-related works at the national-level.
At the same time, the Union exhorted the State government to consider the formation of a separate unit within the Corporation for carrying out timely movement of paddy procured at the direct purchase centres to the storage points. The absence of a dedicated unit to ensure quick and safe transportation of procured paddy from the DPCs to the storage points result in loss of paddy due to natural calamities, he added.
Exhorting the State government to increase the wages given to the loading personnel at the DPCs from ₹3 a bag to ₹12, the wages given to the loadmen by the private traders, Mr. Chandrakumar called upon the government to fulfil the procurement employees’ posts lying vacant and increase the pension for retired employees to ₹10,000 a month.
