Chennai, Nov 1 (IANS) TASMAC liquor outlets in Chennai and several other Tamil Nadu districts remained closed on Sunday as employees protested against the empty-bottle buy-back scheme, demanding additional manpower, adequate storage space and better working conditions before its implementation.
More than 50 employees representing Chennai district TASMAC workers’ unions gathered outside the corporation’s depot in Ambattur. Shop closures were also reported in Tiruvallur, Madurai, Erode, Karur, Vellore, Kanyakumari and Krishnagiri, as workers opposed the additional responsibilities associated with collecting and processing returned bottles.
The protest coincided with the introduction of revised liquor prices on November 1. Under the revised arrangement, outlets will no longer collect Rs 10 separately towards the bottle-return scheme when liquor is purchased. Consumers will, however, continue to receive Rs 10 for each eligible empty bottle returned, subject to verification.
Customers can hand over empty bottles at any TASMAC outlet, irrespective of where they purchased the liquor.
Employees said the scheme had been introduced without adequately addressing practical difficulties at retail outlets. They cited limited space for storing bottles and the workload involved in scanning and handling them.
One protesting employee said TASMAC should either engage workers through an external agency or install automated bottle-collection machines at every outlet. Existing staff could not be expected to shoulder the additional burden without sufficient support, the employee added.
According to the latest directive, staff deployed at individual outlets will collect empty bottles and hand them over to approved vendors. This arrangement will continue until a reverse vendor is selected through a tender process.
To support the additional work during the interim period, outlets within Greater Chennai Corporation limits will receive up to Rs 2,000 a day. Shops in other municipal corporations will receive Rs 1,800 daily, while those in municipalities and town panchayats will get Rs 1,600. Village panchayat outlets will receive Rs 1,500. Workers, however, said financial reimbursements would not resolve their concerns. They demanded practical arrangements for bottle collection and storage, alongside measures to address longstanding deficiencies in workplace facilities.
Employees particularly highlighted the absence of toilets at several shops, saying basic needs had remained neglected despite years of service.
The protesters maintained that the administration must address staffing shortages, infrastructure constraints and working conditions instead of relying on existing employees to manage the bottle-return system alongside their regular sales duties.
–IANS
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