CHENNAI: A day after the state government announced various welfare schemes for conservancy workers, representatives of a few sanitary workers’ associations on Friday met Chief Minister M K Stalin at his residence to thank him. However, major labour unions in the city corporation including CITU-affiliated Red Flag Union, Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam, LTUC, and AICCTU, which participated or spearheaded the sanitary workers’ protest against privatisation of solid waste management in Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar zones — were not part of the delegation. The schemes announced included free breakfast, housing, enhanced insurance cover, special focus on occupational diseases, self-employment support, and education aid for children of the workers.
P Srinivasalu, general secretary of Chennai Corporation Red Flag Union, told TNIE, “We have been seeking an appointment to meet the CM since July to present our demands against privatisation, but got no response. Now, the corporation invited us to thank him, but we did not go as we want to firmly present our demands, not merely join to thank him.”
A release said Beaula John Selvaraj from Annaiththu Sangam Kootamaippu (All Workers’ Federation), P Jayashankar from Chennai Corporation Malaria and Health Workers’ Association, and S Purushothaman from Chennai Corporation All Department Labour Association were among the representatives who met the CM.
Meanwhile, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Mayor R Priya led a rally of sanitation workers in Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, the zones from where the workers had been on protest, thanking the CM on Friday. She and GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran served breakfast to workers.
Workers, who took part in the protest and were released by the police on Thursday evening after being detained on Wednesday midnight, told TNIE that they were not part of the rally. They alleged the GCC had managed to bring in the participants.