RTI reveals misuse of Chennai Port employees

G Saravanan
Published : 14 Aug 2009
Close on the heels of CBI raids at the former chairman of Chennai Port Trust K Suresh’s official house, a Right to Information (RTI) enquiry by a union leader has revealed that services of a few port employees with different designations were being used as orderlies and helpers at top port trust officials’ houses.

The revelation came in a reply to an RTI application filed by R Santhanam, general secretary of the Port and Dock Labour Union, seeking the details about the unlawful labour practices prevailing in the port.

Santhanam said: “Based on a report that a few employees who are in the muster rolls of other departments are being used as orderlies in the houses of top officials including at chairman’s official quarters and paid unacceptable overtime pays (for elongated working hours, normally 12 to 13 hours a day), I filed an RTI application seeking details of such employees.”

“Interestingly, the reply revealed that an employee, namely D Sathish Kumar, peon by designation in the Port Trust’s stores department, was working at the chairman’s official house for the past four years as helper,” he said. Though he belongs to the stores department, no one in the department has seen him since 2005, when he joined the port trust on compassionate ground, Santhanam added.

According to another member of the union, more than 30 employees including considerable number of women mazdoors drawn from different departments have been deputed as orderlies and helpers at the chairman’s bungalow.

It may be noted that the former chairman Suresh did not vacate his official bungalow even after completion of his term in June this year and the 30 odd employees still go to work there.“The RTI reply also revealed that Sathish Kumar worked on all days and also went for an average of five hours of overtime everyday at the chairman’s house. If it is true, the chairman himself violated the Factories Act by not allowing him a mandatory leave after 10th day of work,” Santhanam charged.

It is known that the former chairman Suresh used to visit New Delhi quiet often officially for several days, but Sathish Kumar was present on all days and he was paid average six hours overtime also.

On May 13, the General Election day and a declared holiday, Sathish was on duty since morning and has even done an overtime of five hours. This indirectly denotes that he was deprived of exercising his voting rights. “When other employees seek overtime, the port trust management simply refuse them by saying they do not have adequate allocations for overtime payment, but those employees deputed to work at the top officials’ houses were given with a minimum of six hours overtime.”