CHENNAI: Around 350 construction workers employed by a reputed developer have been denied last two months’ salary, following which they staged a protest on Tuesday. The furious workers, who have been working on a project coming up at Aishwarya Nagar in Ayanambakkam, said they are unable to send money home, causing financial hardships.  

Carpenter Bhagirathi (33), who hails from Bihar, started working at this site in November. “The contractor is yet to pay me salary for two months. I am spending money out of my pocket on rations during the lockdown,” said the father of two boys. “The contractor has to pay me Rs 80,000. I am burning midnight oil to ensure my children don’t go hungry. But, what’s the point if I am not paid?”    

The last straw was the denial of ration supplies by the state officials, as most of them are migrant labourers. “We had gone to the hospital to meet a colleague who is recovering there. So we could not give Aadhaar details to officials. So our names were left out when the ration was distributed Monday,” says 25-year-old Chandrabhan, also a carpenter at the site. Unable to take it anymore, they spilled out in the streets in protest.

When contacted, the contractor said he himself was stuck due to the lockdown, but had arranged for rations to be supplied. He confirmed that he had not paid two months salary. “I am yet to get paid by the developer, and will release salaries as soon as the developer pays me,” he said. An official from the developer’s office claimed money could not be paid due to lockdown.

“Ration supplies are being taken care of, as we are giving them Rs 100 a day as food allowance,” the official said. “Yesterday’s case may be different. They could not have got the ration due to shortage. We also have to cater to workers in 21 of our sites,” the official said.“I am not asking for lakhs, all I want is the Rs 44,000 they owe me,” said Gobind (29) from Kathihar in Bihar, a father of three children.

To be probed
Though Labour Department officials could not be contacted, Express has learnt that it’s planning to probe the case