The state’s sanitation workers, who have been on strike since August 6, decided on Saturday to continue suspending work after their talks with the state government regarding their demands ended without a conclusion.
A delegation of the Nagarpalika Karamchari Sangh Haryana, led by its state president Naresh Shastri, and the Haryana fire department employees union, led by its state president Rajesh Sinad, met with minister of social justice and empowerment Krishan Kumar Bedi and senior department officials at the Kurukshetra Gymkhana Club.
The two-rounds of meeting which started around 1 pm ended in the evening with no solution primarily on the major issue of regularisation of jobs.
After the meeting, the union accused the BJP government of failing to fulfill its 2014 election manifesto, which promised regular jobs to sanitation workers across the state. They also called out the saffron party for socially discriminating against the lowest caste in society by regularising staffers in other departments while leaving sanitation workers to die in sewers.
Shastri said, “We have already had six rounds of meetings with the government, and this was our seventh, but officials have been unable to find a way to regularise the sanitation workers’ jobs. Sanitation workers are losing their lives working in sewers, and their families receive no compensation or jobs. Furthermore, no action is taken against those responsible for their deaths. Sanitation workers should be regularised, and the contractual system should be abolished.”
{{/usCountry}}Shastri said, “We have already had six rounds of meetings with the government, and this was our seventh, but officials have been unable to find a way to regularise the sanitation workers’ jobs. Sanitation workers are losing their lives working in sewers, and their families receive no compensation or jobs. Furthermore, no action is taken against those responsible for their deaths. Sanitation workers should be regularised, and the contractual system should be abolished.”
{{/usCountry}}On the other hand, Bedi said the government had already agreed to 13 of their 14 demands and was seeking legal opinion on the demand for regularisation.
“During the meetings, the union presented 14 demands to the government, and agreement has been reached on 13 of them. Regarding the demand for employee regularisation, legal advice is being sought to ensure compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana high court. After this, the government will take serious action to address this at the earliest,” the minister said.
He further said that a meeting of the union leaders will be arranged with chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and that a request has been conveyed to the union to end the strike, but they have refused.
Shastri said that over 50,000 sanitation workers and around 2,000 fire department employees will continue the strike.
Due to the lack of garbage removal, heaps of garbage piling up in markets, residential areas, and government offices continue to expose poor sanitation conditions, severely threatening public health. The suspension of door-to-door waste collection, mostly managed by private agencies in support of the striking workers, and irregular rain have added to the woes.