The members of the Union of Retired Transport Workers Association (URTWA) staged a demonstration in front of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) head office on Mettupalayam Road here on Wednesday, demanding the state government to pay the retirement benefits to the former staff.

More than 200 members of the organization who gathered in front of the TNSTC office said that, for the past four years, the government has not given the commutation fee and other benefit funds that are normally given to the retiring employees. They claimed that deductions were made for these amounts from their salaries when they were working.

Alleging that the state government has turned a deaf ear to their pleas, they said that they had conducted various protests and hunger strikes, and had even sought judicial intervention, but to no avail.

“We had even contacted the concerned ministers, district collectors, and the Chief Minister, but the government has not yet released these benefits despite the court orders,” one of the protesters said.

He further added that the pension amount has not been given to employees who had joined work after 2003, and said that if this continues, those who joined later will not get any benefit.

“We will continue to fight for our demands,” another member said.