CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Employees’ Federation (AITUC) general secretary R Arumugam on Sunday urged the State government to extend the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS), announced for government employees, to workers of State transport corporations as well.

In a statement, Arumugam said transport workers had a long history of struggle to secure pension benefits. He recalled that when transport undertakings functioned as a government department, workers who completed 10 years of service were covered under the Madras Liberalised Pension scheme. However, after the formation of transport corporations, the pension scheme was withdrawn and replaced with a contributory provident fund system.

He said workers deputed from government departments to transport corporations were also denied pension, forcing AITUC to wage an 18-year-long struggle on the streets, in courts and in the Assembly, following which pension was granted to about 7,000 workers. Sustained agitations from 1998 led to the introduction of a pension scheme through wage settlements, eventually covering about 1.28 lakh transport workers, he added.

Arumugam pointed out that honouring transport staff with a pension was discontinued during the AIADMK regime between 2001 and 2003 and restored only after protests. He also recalled that the dearness allowance linked to the pension was withheld from 2015 and released later following court intervention.

Criticising the imposition of the contributory pension scheme on workers appointed after April 2003, he said pension schemes evolved through wage agreements could not be nullified through government orders. He noted that a reform committee constituted during the DMK government in 2008 had recommended that the State bear responsibility for pensions of transport workers engaged in public service.

Welcoming the announcement of TAPS for government employees, Arumugam said the DMK must fulfil its election promise by restoring assured pension benefits to transport workers as well.