CHENNAI: Feeling under the weather this summer? So are Metropolitan Transport Corporation employees.

It is not just the heat and pollution that are taking a toll on drivers and conductors. The steady stream of staff retiring every month leaves the MTC short of hands.

In 2001, there were close to 21,000 employees on the rolls. Now, there are 18,900.

"Every month, at least 50 - 60 employees retire. Close to 1,040 persons are absent from work daily. We are finding it difficult to operate the fleet," says a senior MTC official.

The current recruitment ban is keeping the number of drivers and conductors down. Employees allege that this is the main reason for absenteeism. "They do not have enough drivers and conductors to give people leave. So the staff skip work even though their pay is cut," says M. Chandran, general secretary of Metro Transport Association. Mr. Chandran cites the case of a conductor whose request to be discharged from duty on medical grounds is still pending before MTC. "He cannot even walk. How do you expect him to move around in a crowded bus as per the department instruction to all conductors?" he asks.

While the Corporation is trying to balance the act by juggling its depleting workforce, poor health leaves many employees out of action.

According to MTC health officials, irregular eating habits causes a host of health problems — from dysentery to peptic ulcers.

"Most of them eat outside due to their shifts," says an official. Increase in cholesterol and stress levels lead to hypertension and subsequent heart problems. Asthma and pulmonary tuberculosis is also on the rise. And of late, fatigue due to the summer heat.

MTC officials say employees are referred to Government hospitals if they are diagnosed with serious health problems. "There is also a welfare fund to provide financial assistance in case of an emergency," the official says.

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