BENGALURU: The BBMP Pourakarmikara Sangha on Wednesday wrote to Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, objecting to the exclusion of sanitation workers from a consultation on solid waste management on Thursday.
Resident Welfare Associations from across Bengaluru have been invited on Thursday for a “Citizen Consultation on Solid Waste Management in Greater Bengaluru”.
The association questioned how the city’s waste management problems could be discussed without involving those who handle waste on a daily basis. It also listed several issues faced by the workers.
In the letter, Nirmala M, president of the Sangha, said workers who sweep streets, collect and handle waste and deal with the practical challenges of waste management should be part of any discussion aimed at improving the system. She demanded that the GBA convene a separate meeting with workers to discuss their grievances, including regularisation of employment and better working conditions.
The association demanded the regularisation of contractual workers, scientific staffing based on Bengaluru’s population and waste load, protective equipment and health check-ups, mechanisms to address discrimination and mandatory involvement of pourakarmikas and their unions in decisions on waste management.
They said Bengaluru’s population and waste generation have increased substantially, while staffing has failed to keep pace. Citing the IPD Salappa Committee’s recommendation of one pourakarmika for every 500 people in 1976, they said the ratio should now be around 1:250, while the government continues to maintain a ratio of 1:700, which itself is not fully met. They alleged that workers who retired or died since 2017 have not been adequately replaced.
Drivers and loaders working on contract are also allegedly facing delayed or unpaid wages, a lack of social-security benefits such as ESI and PF, and inadequate leave, they said.