Pump operators stage protest demanding fair pay

Pump operators protest for equal pay and benefits in Rural Development Department, facing salary discrepancies and lack of insurance.

Pump operators employed in Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department staged a protest here on Tuesday demanding equal salary for workers of all areas.  

M. Ayyadurai, district secretary of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj workers affiliated with the CITU, said that while the government-fixed salary for the pump operators or overhead tank operators employed in rural development department was ₹5,700, there was a huge difference in salary the workers were actually being paid.  

“Some panchayats pay ₹5,200, some others pay ₹5,000 and in places like Kamudhi, the pay is mere ₹4,200,” he added.  

Even when a Government Order (G.O.) mandates the salary to be paid to the workers through Electronic Clearance Service (ECS), many panchayats still do not follow it, Mr. Ayyadurai alleged.  

When the workers are paid in person, there is no record of the payment made by the administration. “This in many places leads to irregularities in payment,” he added.  

Further, the workers were not given health insurance cards.  “When ₹110 is held from the salary of pump operators, and ₹300 from salary of conservancy workers for the health insurance scheme, they have not been given the insurance cards yet,” he said.  It was the responsibility of the district administration to ensure that all workers received the cards as it was essential for any worker to get medical services at subsidised rates, he added.  

Also, identity cards which were indispensable for the workers to get themselves enrolled in welfare boards were also not provided by the administration, he alleged. “The registration, which is to be done through Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation Limited (TAHDCO), is not being accepted without the identity cards,” he said.