Degree holders sweep bars

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After completing their MAs and PhDs, they stepped out with big dreams of running successful enterprises, but now they are sweeping wine shop floors and buying tea for Tasmac supervisors.

Hundreds of masters degree holders who started out as bar attendants in Tasmac outlets lost their jobs once the bars were auctioned off to private players and now are forced to sweep floors.

“We took up the jobs as they were government jobs but we are nothing more than glorified cleaners. They said they would make us assistant salesmen but nothing has been done yet,” said 45-year-old Gunasekaran who has completed his MA in public administration and works as a Tasmac bar attendant.

As many as 4,038 bar attendants who were earning Rs 2,400 per month were left in the lurch after they lost their jobs at the bar and took up sundry jobs in wine shops.

When the CAG raised a question about their status, Tasmac officials said that following a board meeting, it has been decided that the bar attendants would be promoted as assistant salesmen.

“We were asked to join as bar attendants initially and they promised to promote us as supervisors. We also had to pay a deposit of `10,000 to get the job,” said Chokalingam, who has done his MPhil and works at a wine shop in Tirupur.

Prohibition and excise and electricity minister Natham Vishwanathan said that the chief minister has said that the post of bar attendants should be scrapped. “It is a policy decision so we have removed the post. However, depending on their educational status we will allot jobs to them,” he said.

Vishwanathan said that the enumeration work was under progress and they would be placed within a month.