Tamil Nadu transport employees will receive Deepavali bonus payments under a government decision covering 1,06,001 workers, while the state’s bus network continues to serve 2.18 crore people every day across 10,172 routes, according to an official press release reported by Deccan Chronicle. The government will incur an expense of Rs 167.12 crore for the transport department payments.
The announcement also covers employees of cooperative societies and sugar mills. The government said workers in profit-making cooperative societies would receive a 20 percent bonus, while employees of other cooperative societies covered by the Bonus Act would receive 10 percent. Non-profit cooperative societies outside the purview of the Act will provide an ex-gratia payment of Rs 3,000 to their employees.
Primary cooperative society employees will receive Rs 2,400, the release said. In total, 44,570 cooperative society employees will benefit from the payments, which will cost the government Rs 49.69 crore. The decision recognises the work of employees in institutions that provide financial, supply and other services through the cooperative system.
The state’s cooperative sugar mills will also distribute bonus and ex-gratia payments. The Subrmania Siva and Kallakurichi II mills will pay an 8.33 percent bonus and an 11.67 percent ex-gratia amount. The remaining 14 cooperative mills and two public sector sugar mills will pay an 8.33 percent bonus and 1.67 percent ex-gratia.
A total of 5,190 sugar mill workers will benefit from the allocation of Rs 351.40 lakh, according to the announcement. The different payment structures reflect the categories of institutions and the applicable bonus arrangements described by the government.
The transport department operates 21,333 buses on its daily network. The government said 72 percent of passengers using these services avail themselves of free travel benefits. That makes the employee payment announcement relevant not only to the workers receiving the bonus but also to the functioning of a public transport system used extensively by residents across the state.
The Rs 167.12 crore transport bonus amount has been debited to the employees’ accounts, the release said. The announcement did not provide further details on the payment schedule for the cooperative society and sugar mill employees. Separately, the cooperative department has procured firecrackers worth Rs 16 crore for sale at subsidised rates to the public, the government said.
