Chennai, August 11: In the end it was the government that won. Members of the joint action committee of TASMAC employees had set in motion preparations for their strike on August 11 to press for their charter of demands. The government also launched its own preparations to counter the strike and ensure that the government liquor shops functioned normally on the day of the strike.
And so it happened that August 11 was not a dry day for Tamil Nadu. TASMAC shops, selling liquor over the counter and in bars attached to them, did brisk business as usual on the day of the strike.
That is because the government had ensured that about 80 per cent of the staff turned up for work; the government had already procured a second key for all the shops to open them in case the staff failed to turn up for duty; two policemen were posted at each of the 6,600-odd shops; officials went around opening the shops and employed outside personnel to man some shops; and the plight of the TASMAC workers did not move the drunkards of Tamil Nadu from keeping away from the bottle for even one day.
The demands of the TASMAC staff include regularisation of their jobs as they are still contract workers though some have been working for the last seven years, ever since TASMAC was floated.
The employees want a 7-day week and weekly holidays apart from salary on a par with government employees. Their demand also includes holidays on national and religious holidays
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