Tasmac hikes monthly maintenance allocation for retail shops by nearly 7 times

CHENNAI: Fulfilling a long-pending demand by its employees, the TASMAC increased the monthly amount available for cleaning, drinking water, and basic amenities at its retail liquor shops by more than 6.7 times, raising it from the existing Rs 750 cash provision to up to Rs 5,000 per shop from October 1.

The move follows an announcement by Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh in the Assembly on August 31, offering a slew of measures for Tasmac employees. The minister had announced a monthly provision of Rs 5,000 for shops in corporation areas, Rs 4,000 for those in municipalities and town panchayats, and Rs 3,000 for shops in rural areas.

According to the circular dated September 29 issued by Tasmac, covering all 4,048 retail vending shops in the State, the allocation will be credited to the shop supervisor along with the monthly salary. It can be used for cleaning materials, disinfectants, garbage bins and bags, and drinking water. A local person can also be engaged for cleaning work using the provision.

But the money cannot be spent on rent, electricity, building repairs, furniture, equipment, or expenses for which Tasmac already has a separate provision. It also approved a 5 per cent annual increase in the maintenance rates from April 1, 2027, with the revised amounts to be rounded up to the nearest Rs 100.

The move comes amid months of complaints from Tasmac employees over shop-level expenses and additional duties. Unions have flagged rent, electricity and unloading charges, besides the manpower and costs involved in the empty-bottle buy-back scheme, which they said were being borne by shop staff.

The government had begun addressing some of the employee demands. Earlier, the government did a wage revision, taking the monthly pay of supervisors to Rs 33,023, salesmen to Rs 30,284, and assistant salesmen to Rs 28,680 from September 1.

Earlier this month, TASMAC had sanctioned an interest-free festival advance of Rs 20,000 a year for eligible employees of its retail vending shops, allowing each employee to avail the benefit for one festival of their choice.

Few weeks back, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had witnessed heated exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition DMK over the Rs 10 collected per liquor bottle at TASMAC outlets. Prohibition and Excise Minister K Vignesh defended it, saying the amount was not a government charge, but began as a Rs 2 collection to support low-paid shop employees and later rose to Rs 10 to cover electricity, rent and maintenance costs.