Take cue from suicide, recall part-time staff

PUDUCHERRY: A day after a part-time government employee allegedly committed suicide, the AIADMK on Sunday urged the government to reinstate the 4,000 employees on daily wages retrenched from various departments soon after the AINRC assumed office.In a statement issued here, the party’s state unit leader and MLA Anbazhagan said the death of the part-time employee, R Sakthivel, attached to the Adi Dravidar welfare department, brought to the fore the plight of such staff.  The retrenched employee and many like him, who have put in a number of years in service, were leading a pitiable life as they were not regularised in service, Anbazhagan said.“These unfortunate victims of political vendetta had nothing to look forward to after their retrenchment. They were forced to roam the streets, idling away their time,” he added.Urging the workers not to resort to such extreme measures, the AIADMK leader exhorted them to fight the unjust policies of the government.Some of the daily-rated employees with five to nine years in service were retrenched, while those employed by Chief Minister Rangasamy through unfair means got themselves regularised after putting in just two to three years in service, he alleged.Further, it is “painful” to note that Sakthivel, who was allegedly driven to suicide by poverty, urged the CM to take steps to ensure a better life for the 115 part time workers in the Adi Dravidar department.Sakathivel blamed the Chief Minister for his plight and the condition of his co-workers, Anbazhagan claimed.The CM should “understand, correct his mistake and re-employ the 4,000 retrenched employees.”Last year, another employee on daily wages, Raghu alias Raghavan (33), a resident of Andiarpalayam near Thavalakuppam, who was retrenched from the Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, allegedly committed suicide.