Contract workers protest, lock Noida authority offices

There are around 4,200 contractual employees, who are hired by the private agencies. These employees demand that the Noida authority should employ them directly.

Contractual employees of the Noida authority on Wednesday locked the authority’s offices in Sectors 5, 19, 20 and 39, demanding that they be employed directly and given benefits.

Contractual employees of the Noida authority on Wednesday locked the authority’s offices in Sectors 5, 19, 20 and 39, demanding that they be employed directly and given benefits. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo)

Contractual workers are paid between ₹8,000 and ₹18,500 monthly by private contractors, who charge a 2.5% commission.

These employees include peons, sweepers, sanitation workers, security guards and drivers with different wings — engineering, water works, health and horticulture, among others — of the Noida authority.

The authority’s water works and public health office is located in Sector 5, horticulture office in Sector 39, civil works in Sector 19 and engineering department in Sector 20.

Three offices of the authority remained closed the entire day and the work was disrupted. Workers locked the gates at 10am and continued to protest till the evening.

“I could not enter the Sector 39 office in the morning. So I conducted an inspection of parks as the office was inaccessible till the evening,” said Omvir Singh, the director of the horticulture department.

The workers keep protesting periodically, affecting sanitation services and official work.

“We have been demanding for a permanent job for a long time and also for the removal of private agencies, who charge a commission. But the authority keeps making false promises instead of addressing our grievances,” said Mukesh Kumar, a contractual employee.

The employees had protested on Tuesday as well and disrupted work at Sector 5 office of the Noida authority.

“The Noida authority should also provide uniform salary to each worker, as per their experience. Some get ₹18,000 per month, while there are many who have been working for 10 years, but still only get ₹8,000 per month,” said Saniv Pal, a contractual worker.

The Noida authority’s additional chief executive officer, Rakesh Kumar Mishra, said, “I look after sanitation work. So, I have assured the sanitation employees that we will address their issues soon and they should not disturb work.”