TASMAC Workers' Token Strike Triggers Liquor Crisis and Price Gouging in Chennai
A three-hour token strike by TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) workers on Monday, from noon to 3 pm, plunged liquor sales into chaos across Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu. The industrial action, a protest against long-pending demands, resulted in severe shortages, forcing tipplers to pay exorbitant prices and fueling a black market for alcohol.
Massive Shop Closures and Price Hikes
Out of 260 liquor shops in Chennai district, only 39 opened at the usual noon hour. Statewide, a mere 1,300 out of 4,749 shops were operational initially. This scarcity led to rampant price gouging, with tipplers queuing outside the few open outlets facing steep markups. A standard 180ml bottle, typically sold with a 10-rupee premium over the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), was being sold for an extra 60 rupees. Lower-quality liquors with an MRP of 140 rupees were reportedly sold for 200 rupees, a significant 43% increase.
One outlet in M K B Nagar (Shop No. 165) was charging 30% above the standard price. Elderly customers complained that when they questioned the inflated costs, they were told to wait until 3 pm when the strike ended. "If we raise questions about the price, they ask us to wait till 3pm," said one frustrated customer.
Black Market Flourishes and Police Intervention
With many TASMAC shops closed, opportunistic bar owners and others stocked up on liquor and sold it on the black market to desperate customers. This illicit trade was reported in multiple parts of Chennai, exacerbating the crisis. In Egmore, the situation escalated to a protest, as a group of tipplers demanded that a liquor shop be opened, necessitating police intervention to manage the crowd.
Management Response and Worker Defiance
TASMAC management took aggressive steps to mitigate the disruption. In Kancheepuram North, depot workers were deployed to break open the shutters of nine shops to resume sales. The corporation also issued warnings, stating that severe action would be initiated against salesmen and supervisors in districts like Tiruvallur East, Tiruvallur West, Tuticorin, Theni, Ooty, and Pudukkottai, where shops remained shut beyond 2:30 pm.
Despite these threats, D Dhanasekaran, general secretary of the AICTU-affiliated TASMAC workers' union, declared the token protest a success. "Some workers returned to shops out of fear of repercussions, but a majority stood with the decision," he asserted. TASMAC sources noted that many salesmen eventually opened shops before 1 pm, fearing departmental action, but the initial strike period caused significant upheaval.
Broader Implications and Public Outcry
The strike highlights the ongoing tensions between TASMAC workers and management over unresolved demands, with workers using token protests to draw attention to their grievances. The incident has sparked public outcry over the exploitation of tipplers during such disruptions, raising questions about price regulation and the availability of essential commodities during labor actions. The widespread reports of black market sales further underscore the challenges in controlling liquor distribution in times of shortage.
