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Ludhiana: Sanitation contract workers protest, push for job regularisation
The workers said that hundreds of employees have been working on contractual basis for years now but they haven’t been regularised yet
Sanitation workers’ unions staged a protest outside the municipal corporation’s Zone A office on Wednesday to demand regularisation of contractual sanitation workers.
The workers said that hundreds of employees have been working on contractual basis for years now but they haven’t been regularised yet.
“A contractual worker doesn’t have any job security and is paid around ₹10,000 a month. Workers keep working in the hope of being regularised and securing a stable job. A regularised worker gets over ₹16,000 a month and the remuneration is revised every few years,” said Vicky Sahota, state president, Rashtriya Safai Karamchari Mahasangh.
He claimed that, around 800 sanitation workers, had been working for over a decade as contractual workers, but in 2022 they were denied regularisation citing their age. “In 2022 around workers were told that they were ineligible for regularisation as they were over 42 years. But these people got over age while working only. How is it fair to deny regularisation because of the administrations’ delay?” he said.
The unions also protested outsourcing of sanitation work to private companies. “The MC has already outsourced waste collection and sanitation in 26 wards to address shortage of staff. Why don’t they hire sanitation workers instead of outsourcing which actually costs more?”
He claimed that one of the companies that was given the contract for waste collection was being paid ₹1200 a day for a worker. “What is the justification for paying more to outsourced companies and how is it fair for a contractual worker who only gets ₹300 a day for the same job?” he asked.
Another issue that the workers highlighted was pension. They demanded a return to the old pension scheme. “After having served all their lives, where will the workers go without a pension? Do daily expenses cease after retirement?”
The workers handed over a memorandum to the municipal commissioner, Neeru Katyal Gupta, regarding the demands.
The workers announced that they will protest from May 15-17. They also warned that if their demands were not accepted soon they would go on an indefinite strike.
MC commissioner Neeru Katyal said, “I have sent the memorandum to local government department.
