Striking sanitation workers in Gurugram asked to resume work by Monday or face action

Officials said that workers have been on strike for the last 50 days and are not letting private agencies to carry out sanitation work

The district administration and Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) have given a final ultimatum to over 2,000 sanitation workers to return to work by Monday or else face action, officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

Sanitation workers protest in Gurugram on Friday. (Parveen Kumar)

Officials said that the workers have been on strike for the last 50 days and are not letting private agencies to carry out sanitation work across the city except a few areas.

Gurugram deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav said if the sanitation workers did not resume work, they will initiate criminal proceedings against them as sanitation work falls under essential services.

Yadav and MCG commissioner PC Meena held a meeting with striking employees on Thursday. “The protesting sanitation workers have been disrupting essential services. We have received hundreds of complaints from resident welfare associations and we cannot afford to see garbage piling up in the city,” said Yadav.

Meena said that the sanitation workers are creating ruckus and have been involved in several assault and life-threatening complaints. “We have given them enough warnings but to no avail. If they did not resume work till Monday, they will face serious action. We have already terminated around 50 workers, and 400 are in the line of fire,” he said.

Sanitation workers said that until their demands are met, they will not resume work. “We are ready to face action, but we will not resume work. We have held several meetings, but there has been no outcome. We are not scared of these threats anymore,” said a senior leader requesting anonymity.

The Gurugram civic body has been grappling with the sanitation workers’ 50-day strike, which has paralysed the entire sanitation system of the city. Nearly 3,400 workers are protesting to demand an increase in salary, regularisation of staff on pay roll and reinstating services of those who have been laid off.

The sanitation workers said that they are demanding that services of 946 employees should be brought on roll of the MCG, while the remaining 2,534 should be given job under the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar scheme. The union members said that they are also demanding the pending salaries of the workers of last three months, and workers should also be paid money for Provident Fund and ESI pending for the last nine months.