Gurugram fire staff join MCG workers strike, threaten indefinite agitation

Workers want implementation of the May 13 pact, including regularisation, an end to outsourcing and recruitment against vacant posts, unions said.

Fire department employees on Tuesday joined the protest underway by Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), stepping up pressure on the state government to implement an agreement from May this year, which includes regularisation of sanitation, sewer, horticulture and other contractual workers, an end to outsourcing of sanitation and sewage work, and recruitment for vacant posts.

The protest, which began on August 6 with a section of MCG workers, gained traction as more employees, including those from the fire department, joined on Tuesday. The two unions have extended the strike till August 15 and warned of an indefinite agitation if their demands are not met by then.

Fire department personnel have raised additional demands, including regularisation of firemen and drivers, uniform and risk allowances, and ₹50 lakh compensation along with government jobs for dependents of employees killed in the line of duty.

On May 14, the Haryana government reached an agreement with the workers following a 14-day strike. However, the unions allege that the assurances have not translated into official orders.

“We had reached an agreement on May 13, but despite repeated assurances, orders to implement these demands have not been issued. We have therefore decided to extend the strike till August 15,” said Basant Kumar, president of Haryana Sarv Karamchari Sangh in Gurugram. “If the government still fails to act, we will be forced to intensify the agitation and consider an indefinite strike.”

The workers are demanding implementation of the May 13 pact, and are also seeking restoration of the Old Pension Scheme, minimum wages and labour-law benefits for contractual workers, reinstatement of 3,480 retrenched Gurugram employees, and revisions to the ex-gratia policy.

A senior MCG official, requesting anonymity, said the strike had not caused any major disruption so far. “We have been deploying MCG staff wherever there is a need to ensure that sanitation services are not affected,” the official said.

However, Naresh Kumar, fire safety officer at the Sector 29 fire station, acknowledged that the stir could strain operations. “It becomes difficult to manage operations when employees do not report for duty and are on strike. We are already short-staffed, so any further reduction in manpower puts additional pressure on the available personnel,” he said.