TN to double MLAS’ salaries during transport workers’ strike for better pay

CHENNAI: Legislators in Tamil Nadu have moved a proposal to hike their salaries by nearly 100% amid a crippling strike by thousands of transport workers seeking better wages, a move condemned by the Opposition and trade unions.

Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, who also holds the finance portfolio, tabled a bill seeking to double the salary of MLAS on Wednesday. An MLA gets a salary of ₹55,000 per month. Trade union leaders were the first to deplore the government’s move.

Centre of Indian Trade Unions leader and president of Tamil Nadu State Transport Employees Federation A Soundararajan and Dmk-backed Labour Progressive Federation’s (LPF) president M Shanmugam said employees were fighting for their rights, wage revision and payment of arrears amounting to ₹7,500 crore, but the MLAS were voting themselves a 100% hike in salaries. “It is nothing but our own money that the government has illegally misappropriated. Most of the sum amounting to ₹5,500 crore was not deposited into our PF (provident fund) accounts and we cannot even take loans,” Soundararajan said.

DMK working president MK Stalin condemned the hike as cruel and said his party had opposed the bill at the inception stage itself. “We strongly oppose the bill now too when thousands of workers are on the streets with their families and children for their genuine demands. For the past two days, the family members of the striking workers are on the street but the government is not doing anything about it,” Stalin said.

Rebel AIADMK leader Dhinakaran said the move only showed the lopsided priorities of the government. He appealed to the government to end the deadlock soon by accepting genuine demands of the striking workers.

We strongly oppose the bill now too when thousands of workers are on the streets with their families and children for their genuine demands.

MK STALIN, DMK working president