₹3,000 swept aside: Months of no pay burden Ludhiana govt school sanitation workers

Sukhdhir Singh Sekhon, head teacher at Government Primary School, Moti Nagar, said workers had not received salaries for months and regularly approached school authorities for answers

Government school heads across the district are facing a serious sanitation crisis as salaries of sweepers have remained unpaid for months, leaving workers struggling to support their families. In some schools, teachers and principals have been forced to pay sweepers from their own pockets or use Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) funds to maintain basic hygiene.

Sweepers cleaning the premises of a govt school in Ludhiana on Monday. (HT Photo)

Sukhdhir Singh Sekhon, head teacher at Government Primary School, Moti Nagar, said workers had not received salaries for months and regularly approached school authorities for answers. “They reach out to us daily asking about their salary and we have no answer,” he said.

Sanitation workers are paid only ₹3,000 a month, making the prolonged delay particularly difficult. Schools with fewer than 100 students are not provided sweepers, forcing teachers to handle cleaning work themselves. As per director general of school education guidelines, schools with 100-500 students should have one sweeper, while those with 501-1,000 students should have two. However, schools continue to report vacant posts or a lack of assigned workers.

Sharanjit Singh, a sanitary worker from a government school, said, “We do not know who to reach out to. We also have families to run. With this much salary, it is already difficult for us, but this is also unpaid.”

Deputy district education officer (secondary) Amandeep Singh said salary bills for June, July and August had already been sent to the treasury, raising hopes that the pending payments would be cleared soon and easing the financial burden on sanitation workers and schools across the district.