CHENNAI: Former chief minister and ousted AIADMK leader O Paneerselvam urged the DMK government to immediately distribute pension benefits for retired transport employees, besides implementing the old pension scheme for them.
"The DMK, in its election manifesto, promised that the pension scheme for transport employees introduced in 1998 would be reimplemented. However, even as the DMK government's term draws to a close, this promise remains unfulfilled, and the current situation is such that not even pension benefits are being provided," he claimed in a statement here.
Panneerselvam also claimed that thousands of workers who retired from Tamil Nadu government transport corporations have not received any kind of pension benefits for the past two years.
"Further, the process of regularising contract employees who have been serving for a long period must be expedited", he said, adding "bonus, gratuity, and wage increases must be provided without discrimination besides paying pension-related benefits for the families of deceased employees".
"All these demands should be fulfilled by the government and only then the rights and livelihood security of transport corporation workers and pensioners can be ensured," he said.