NEW DELHI: Sanitation workers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University's central library have alleged that the varsity had not paid their salaries since last November.
The All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) said in a statement on Tuesday that the workers had been on strike for 23 days, alleging that the JNU administration denied them equal pay and safety equipments.
"Till June 2020 (till complete lockdown), they were paid Rs 12,900 per month (for 26 days work month), which is far below the minimum wage," it said.
The AICCTU alleged that the workers had been paid a meagre Rs 9,000 in the name of a month's salary after the two weeks' strike.
"Those who clean the every corner of the campus are not being paid," said Urmila Chauhan, president of the All India General Kamgar Union, a body affiliated with the AICCTU.
"The so-called corona warriors who have to face the deadly virus without any protective equipment have to go without salaries for months," Chauhan said.
"This is nothing less than bonded labour."
The union alleged that the workers' grievances include retrenchment and "victimisation" of the union office-bearers, non-payment of bonus, irregularities in PF contribution, and non-issuance of ID cards and salary slips.