Outsourced employees of Coimbatore Corporation zoo demand release of pending wages

The civic body has received their grievance and will redress it soon. Pending salaries, if any, will be settled, says the City Health Officer

The outsourced employees of the Coimbatore Corporation zoo submitted a petition to Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar during the weekly grievances redress meeting here on Tuesday, demanding release of pending wages.

K. Arumugham and four others have been working as security staff in the zoo since 2019. They were employed by a private security company that took the contract from the Corporation for zoo security and maintenance.

The petitioners said, “the contract period of the private company ended on August 2021, and we are working even after that based on the promise made by a Corporation official that we would get the salary from the Corporation.”

They alleged that the Corporation did not pay the salary for the past 13 months.

In their petition, the workers alleged that the private company that employed them had siphoned off ₹15,000, which they paid under Provident Fund and Employee State Insurance Schemes.

A Corporation official said, “the workers continued even after the expiry of the contract period to ensure proper maintenance and security in the zoo.” However, the official, refrained from commenting further.

The City Health Officer said the Corporation had received their grievance and was processing their claims. “It will be redressed soon and pending salaries, if any, would be settled.”