CHENNAI: With the sanitary workers of Ambattur zone continuing their protest for the second day on Sunday after the city corporation mandated the workers to wear uniform during duty hours, the civic body has deployed hundreds of workers from the nearby zones to ensure waste collection remains unaffected.
Speaking to TNIE, H R Koushik, regional deputy commissioner (central), said, “The uniform is part of mandated safety measures. The reflective straps improve visibility while the workers are on roads, which can help prevent accidents. It is, however, unclear why the workers are resisting uniforms.”
Another corporation official said, around 56 NULM workers who were originally hired as sanitary workers had taken on an informal supervisory role exempting themselves from working on the ground to clear waste. The GCC commissioner reportedly instructed these supervisors to engage in sanitation jobs. A circular was also reportedly issued last week reiterating that workers are to wear uniforms.
However, the protest began as the NULM ‘supervisors’ refused to engage in sanitary work while other protesting workers said that the uniform was uncomfortable. They alleged that GCC was also attempting to outsource solid waste management in the Ambattur zone.
Meanwhile, E Saraswathi, a sanitary worker, who had been engaged in an indefinite hunger strike for the past six days demanding reinstatement of their jobs directly under GCC in Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar zones, fell sick and was taken to hospital. Three others are continuing the hunger strike, with one already on IV drip.