Coimbatore: Refusing to join duty at the Government of India Press (GIP) in Nashik, 66 employees of the GIP at Periyanaickenpalayam here have requested the Union government to announce a special voluntarily retirement scheme (VRS) for them.
The employees, most of whom are past the age of 50, told TOI that they suffer from various health issues and also could not adopt to a new workplace. "The directorate of printing, in an order issued on Friday, asked 36 employees of the press to relive from duty on January 15 and join the Nashik press. The second batch was asked to relive from duty on January 31," said general secretary of the Government of India Press Workers Association PA Jacob, adding that the employees are waiting for the labour court's interim stay against the merger with the Nashik unit.
Fifty-five year old K Indra from Press Colony, who had been working in the Periyanaickenpalayam press for the last 22 years, said she don't want to separate from her family residing in the Nilgiris. "We are facing tremendous pressure. If the Union government is ready to provide special VRS, most of the employees are ready to quit," she told TOI.
D Parvathy, who had been working in the press for the last 33 years, said she suffers from heart ailments and could not even think about shifting to Nashik. "Though the press has printing orders for two more years, the Union government decided to close it," Parvathy, who has 30 more months to retire from service, said.
The Periyanaickenpalayam press was started in 1964 on a 132.07-acre plot. More than 900 employees used to work at the press at that time. Applications forms and passbook for department of post, publications for the postal department, documents for the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, forms for the government of India forms stores in Mumbai and forms and applications for the Railway were printed at the press. During 1990 -95, when many employees retired, the government did not conduct fresh recruitment. When a special voluntarily retirement scheme was announced in 2000, about 108 employees made use of it. The press now has 66 permanent employees, 13 temporary staff and nine apprentices.
