CHENNAI: All TASMAC liquor outlets across Tamil Nadu will remain closed from 12 noon to 3 pm today as employee unions have announced a three-hour shutdown protest over pending demands on job regularisation and salary structure.

The move follows unsuccessful talks held on February 5th between representatives of the protesting employees and the Minister for Prohibition and Excise. With no agreement reached, trade unions decided to proceed with a symbolic statewide closure, said a Daily Thanthi report.

For more than five days, TASMAC employees have been staging a continuous sit-in protest in front of the TASMAC headquarters in Egmore, Chennai. Their primary demands include regularising temporary staff who have worked for over a decade, replacing the consolidated pay system with time-scale wages, and ensuring proper pension benefits for retired workers.