CHENNAI: The seventh round of talks between Minister P K Sekarbabu, senior officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation, Mayor R Priya, and the labour rights union over the ongoing protest by sanitary workers from Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar zones against the privatisation of solid waste management operations once again ended without resolution on Sunday.
As the union members and workers refused to relocate their protest despite requests from officials, the civic body has now indicated that no further negotiations will be held, said Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam president K Bharathi.
Speaking to the press, Bharathi accused the corporation officials of “spreading false information” by claiming that 25 per cent of protesting workers had returned to duty. “Those working now in these zones are staff under the contracting firm, not the protesting workers,” he said.
Bharathi stressed that the union’s demands go beyond wages, calling for permanent jobs for temporary sanitary workers. “We fought multiple times in court over many years to raise the minimum wages for sanitary workers from Rs 350 to Rs 753 per day. Now, under private contractors, pay will be reduced again. How can we accept that?” he asked.
He said the workers will continue to protest outside the Ripon Building and are prepared to face police action.
CPI(M) state general secretary P Shanmugam, who met protesters on Sunday, said that outsourcing strips workers of their rights and is unacceptable. “We stood (with protesters) during the Samsung workers’ protest and will do the same for sanitary workers. The government must act to meet their reasonable demands,” he said.
Responding to Minister Sekarbabu’s claim that the DMK never promised regularisation in its manifesto, Shanmugam said, “It’s not necessary to act only on poll promises; reasonable demands can be implemented anytime.”