Waste pickers temporarily hold off protest against PMC
The waste pickers of SWaCH have temporarily deferred their protest against the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) after an assurance from the authority to hold a meeting to resolve all issues
The waste pickers of SWaCH have temporarily deferred their protest against the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) after an assurance from the authority to hold a meeting to resolve all issues. “We have appealed to all SWaCH members to be patient for the time being as the authorities are coming forward to resolve the waste pickers’ issues,” Harshad Barde, director of SWaCH, said.
SWaCH, in partnership with the PMC, collects door-to-door waste in Pune city. SWaCH members had planned a protest to put forward their demands, mainly long-term renewal of their contracts. “Despite regular follow-ups by SWaCH and assurances of long-term renewal from the PMC, the cycle of short-term extensions has continued, pushing the irate waste pickers to agitate for their demands,” Barde said. SWaCH members have also demanded provision of simple infrastructure for recycling and composting, creation of more jobs, reduction of emissions from transportation, and increase in subsidy among others. Furthermore, their demands include increasing health insurance coverage from the existing Rs5,000 to Rs50,000 to adequately cover medical expenses of their physically intensive work, Barde said.
While SWaCH members had planned a protest to put forward their demands, Sandip Kadam from the solid waste management department promised that all concerns repeatedly raised with them will be addressed. “Therefore, we have decided to hold off the protest for the time being and at least 3,700 waste pickers are supposed to participate in the protest,” Barde said.
