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Bengaluru civic workers begin indefinite strike, seek permanent jobs
These civic workers are the very backbone of every city corporation in Karnataka and especially Bengaluru which houses over 12 million of the estimated 70 population of the state.
At least 15,000 “Porakarmikas” or civic workers on Friday began an indefinite strike in Bengaluru, demanding their jobs be made permanent and better salary to take care of their families.
These civic workers are the very backbone of every city corporation in Karnataka and especially Bengaluru which houses over 12 million of the estimated 70 population of the state.
“We have been doing this work for the past 20 years but are still not being made permanent. The salaries they pay are not enough for house rent, to pay our children’s school fees or to survive. We will continue our strike till our jobs are made permanent,” said a pourakarmika, who did not share her name.
While Bengaluru, India’s technology hub, has been spending crores on mechanisation of sweepers and other equipment to keep the streets clean, it is the large army of Pourakarmikas who do bulk of the work and are seen sweeping and collecting garbage from streets and other places manually.
Bengaluru generates around 5,000 tonnes of waste every day and only a small portion of this actually goes to recycling. The waste collection, in large localities, is done with a small auto which transfers it to bigger trucks which then makes its way into segregation units or sometimes, landfills.
The strike comes at a time when Karnataka, particularly Bengaluru, has seen a sharp uptick in Covid-19 infections, adding even more significance to civic workers who keep the city clean.
The garbage crisis, where waste was not collected for days in Bengaluru in 2012, had made global headlines, denting the city’s reputation as a global IT hub.
The pourakarmikas, waste collectors and the entire manual labour ecosystem to keep Bengaluru clean have commenced their strike at Bengaluru’s freedom park, demanding for dignified working conditions, including provision of safety equipment, post-retirement benefits, and permanency of jobs, along with other welfare measures.
The protest is being orgainsed by the Powrakarmikara Sanghatanegala Janti Horata Samiti, of which BBMP Powrakarmikara Sangha is a co-organiser.
Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday chaired a meeting to discuss the issue.
“The state government has agreed in principle to regularise the services of pourakarmikas who are working on direct payment in various urban civic bodies in the state. A committee of senior officers, law department officials and representatives of Pourakarmikas would be constituted to implement it in accordance with legal provisions,” Bommai said.
He said the committee would submit the report within 3 months.
“Pourakarmikas deserve social dignity and security. The state government would respond to their woes with a humane approach. Their monthly remuneration has been hiked to ₹2,000 with the same intention. Special recruitment rules would be framed to simplify their recruitment. The pourakarmikas would be provided housing loan facility, their children would be covered under the Vidya Nidhi scholarship scheme, the women pourakarmikas would get maternity benefits,” the chief minister said.
However, the protesting workers have said they will withdraw their strike only after they get a written assurance from the chief minister.
“The government has said that they will make our jobs permanent, give us on par salaries, loaders and unloaders will also get pay parity. The CM has said that he will give a written letter on the directions given today. We will wait for this letter which is expected to come tomorrow and only then give up on the strike,” said Nirmala, the president of the BBMP Pourakarmikas Association.
