Shamini 
(C) Sivasankar SS
The government of Tamil Nadu has officially signed the 15th wage revision deal for the 1,09,787 employees of all eight State Transport Corporations. The wage agreement signed under Section 12(3) was revealed by Transport and Electricity Minister S S Sivasankar at a meeting at the MTC training centre in Chromepet.
Starting from September 1, 2023 the settlement amount includes a basic pay increase of 6%, which will be paid in four quarterly installments starting from September 2024 as arrears. The monthly salary increase will range from INR 1,420 to INR 6,460, depending on the employee’s pay grade. The increase also means an additional of INR 319.50 crore for arrear payments and INR 40.26 crore for monthly cost to the Government.
This revision will benefit 48,006 drivers, 42,825 conductors, 13,003 technical employees and 2,529 others. In addition, important allowances have been revised to:
Dearness Allowance- From 140 to 160
Special Allowance- From 16 to 21
Shift Allowance- From 9 to 14
Night halt allowances have been revised to INR 31- INR 37 in other states and INR 34- INR 35 in TamilNadu and Puducherry based on availability of rest accommodation. In hilly areas, it will be INR 37.
The daily wages have been updated to INR 500 for men and transgender employees while women will receive INR 350 per day. Marriage loans have doubled to INR 1 lakh and festival advances have been revised to INR 20,000.
Children of transport employees will retain access to free student bus passes throughout their entire course duration regardless of employment status changes. This applies even after the parent has died or retired. Family travel passes are valid for all categories of buses.
Although the agreement has been signed by 64 of the 86 unions, including DMK’s LPF and INTUC, unions like CITU and AITUC, objected saying there are unpaid arrears and there are no benefits for pensioners. CITU President A. Soundararajan criticized the agreement and suggested more talks.
