CHENNAI: Supervisors working under various Tamil Nadu government flagship programmes staged a protest on Monday, pressing four key demands, including job permanency. Around 3,500 employees participated in the protest held in front of the Tamil Nadu Corporation for the Development of Women (TNCDW) headquarters in Chennai.
The protest was organised by the Tamil Nadu State Rural Livelihood Mission Employees' Association, which said that supervisors were being employed on a contract basis, with their services renewed every year. "The government should do away with this system and provide permanent employment to all eligible staff, " an association representative said.
The protesters also demanded an increase in basic pay, a monthly honorarium of Rs 7,500, and compensation for the families of deceased staff members.
The Tamil Nadu State Urban and Rural Livelihoods Mission has around 3,500 coordinators across the State to oversee Self-Help Group (SHG) initiatives. Each coordinator is responsible for monitoring SHG activities in five to eight villages.
Explaining their role, a coordinator said, "We are not only coordinating SHG activities but also ensuring the disbursal of loans to SHGs. We handle loan targets of nearly Rs.600 crore per district. In addition, several other responsibilities are assigned to us."
The supervisors said they had recently been tasked with implementing major government initiatives such as Unga Kanava Sollunga (UKS), Magalir Urimai Thogai, and Ungaludan Stalin, in addition to their regular duties.
The protesters urged the government to consider their demands, stating that their workload had increased significantly without corresponding improvements in pay or job security.