MKU discontinues services of 135 casual workers

The Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) has terminated 135 Consolidated Pay Casual Labour (CPCLR) and Casual Labour (CLR) without any prior notice, the employees claimed here on Saturday.

In a mail sent to The Hindu, the members stated that the university had mentioned that it had taken the decision citing that they were excess in number than the allotted strength sanctioned by the university.

But when verified with the official document of the university, it was found that the allotted strength was much more than the present strength.  The university administration had given wrong information to the government and got approval to remove the CPCLR and CLR from their services, they alleged.

The members appealed to the University administration to reconsider its decision and take steps to reinstate them. “We are only getting ₹ 8,000 to ₹ 10,000 per month as salary,” they said.

A senior official in the MKU, requesting anonymity, said that the postings were made during the then Vice-Chancellors Kalyani and P.P. Chellathurai. They were taken in at that time as there was need for human resources. Now, after getting the approval from the government, the services of the excess staff were discontinued, the official explained.

A retired professor from the MKU, who was a Syndicate member, said that the casual labourers were required then and hence, they were hired. However, over the years, the earnings of the university had dwindled.

For instance, about five years ago, the directorate of distance education had a few lakhs of students enrolled, while it was not the case now due to various reasons. The number of student intake on the distance learning program had fallen. The university had to find ways to build its revenues first, he opined.