COIMBATORE: The Bharathiar University Employees Union has alleged that the university illegally deducted money from temporary workers’ July salaries and warned that if similar deductions continue in August, it will launch legal proceedings and sustained protests.In a statement, union general secretary M Rameshkumar said the university administration was attempting to recover an Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) penalty, which the union claimed could be as high as Rs 75 lakh, by deducting amounts from workers’ wages. The union said the penalty was imposed after the university allegedly failed to deduct and remit ESI contributions for earlier periods as required.The union claimed that deductions of up to Rs 3,000 were made from some workers’ July wages, impacting employees earning about Rs 20,000 a month. It said around 450 temporary workers — including drivers, office assistants, sanitation workers and gardeners — have been working in the university for 20 to 30 years.According to the union, workers raised the issue during a meeting held on Aug 11 in the presence of the registrar. The registrar had assured the workers that the matter would be placed before the upcoming syndicate meeting and steps would be taken to return the deducted amount, the union said.The union said it approached the chief minister’s grievance cell. Citing a response it received, the union claimed the university finance officer stated that past ESI worker contributions for the period from September 2019 to March 2025 would be recovered from wages in three instalments in July, August and September 2026.Calling the move illegal, the union cited provisions of the ESI Act, 1948. It said Section 40(2) allows deduction only of the employee’s contribution of 0.75% for the relevant month from that month’s wages and does not permit recovery of past contributions later. It cited Section 40(3), stating it bars recovery from wages of any penalty or damages imposed by ESIC due to an employer’s failure to comply.The union alleged that the finance officer’s plan to recover past contributions contradicted both the registrar’s assurance and the ESI Act. The union demanded cancellation of the proposed recovery and refund of the amount deducted in July. Rameshkumar said the university began deducting Rs 150 per month as ESI contribution from April, following the union’s petition to ESIC.The union alleged that Rameshkumar, a 19-year employee, was transferred from the university engineer’s office to the hostels office in a retaliatory move. It said representations were sent to the additional chief secretary (higher education), the university registrar reiterating its demands and warning of legal and protest action.
