Corporation staff warn of strike on Nov 18 over job cut plan

VELLORE: Members of the Vellore Corporation Federation of All Staff Associations staged a silent protest in front of the urban body premises and later submitted petitions to Mayor Sujatha Anandakumar, Deputy Mayor Sunil Kumar, Commissioner P Ashok Kumar and Vellore DMK MP DM Kathir Anand on Thursday condemning the move to reduce workforce in all the 20 city corporations, excluding Greater Chennai Corporation, under the guise of streamlining posts based on each local body’s population.

“All corporation federation members will meet Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru and the municipal administration commissioner and raise this issue for a favourable solution. If no action is taken, then the staff will go on token strike on November 18 in the Vellore Corporation,” federation secretary S Saravanan told DT Next.

“Our anguish is in response to a municipal administration and water supply department GO (No.152) dated Oct 20, 2022, which stated that in the 20 corporations the total staff after realignment will only be 3,417,” Saravanan said and pointed out that at present there were more than 33,000 employees. “Staff posts, including that of bill collectors, conservancy and sanitation workers, drivers and record clerks, will be allowed to lapse when the present incumbents retire and their work will be outsourced,” Saravanan added.

Also, the 20 corporations have been split based on their populations with Coimbatore and Madurai in the above 10 lakh population slab, while Vellore, Avadi, Erode, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi have been clubbed in the 5 lakh to 10 lakh slab.

These 5 corporations each will have a total of only 197 staff, with 61 being based at the corporation HQ and the remaining 136 in the local body’s 4 zones. Worker categories after realignment would include only the personnel, revenue and accounts, engineering and water supply and public health wings, officials said.

“This move will definitely create problems,” said Vellore District Consumer Forum president K Sathiyamoorthy. “Corporation staff are accountable now and can be punished for any malfeasance. But when outsourced, accountability will vanish even if officials claim otherwise,” he added.

“Another issue is that it is highly doubtful if those employed by the contractor who gets the outsourcing contract will be paid the prescribed minimum wages,” Sathiyamoorthy added.