CHENNAI: A 28-year-old contract sanitary worker in Chennai attempted to die by suicide on Monday after allegedly suffering sexual harassment at the hands of her supervisor. The woman is being treated at the Royapettah Government Hospital and is stable. She is said to have taken this step out of fear of losing her job if she escalated the issue, highlighting the precarity of those working for civic bodies through contractors. TNIE learnt such harassment is not uncommon.
Teresa (name changed), who works in Greater Chennai Corporation’s Perungudi zone, endured sexual advances from her supervisor, S Aswinkumar, for the past three weeks, her family alleged. Waste collection in the zone is handled by Urbaser Sumeet, a private contractor.
Her husband, a sanitary worker in the same division, said Teresa raised a complaint with the company when they visited the divisional office, but was threatened by the supervising assistant. An official from Urbaser Sumeet claimed action was initiated against Aswinkumar and he no longer worked in the division.
‘Incident kept under wraps to save our jobs’
"Teresa did not tell me at first because she thought I would pick a fight and then we would both lose our jobs," said her husband. "She didn't want to lose the job, which is why the incident was kept under wraps. Since we are contract employees, they may fire both of us without any warning and we may have to go hungry," he added. By her husband's account, Teresa loved her job. She volunteers to attend training programmes in waste segregation and then pass on the learning to others.
She is known to be smart and helped those with doubts on segregation. Teresa is not alone in the treatment she faces at work. In 2020, Anandi (name changed), a single mother and sanitary worker in division 167 of the Alandur zone had accused her supervisor, Muralidaran, of walking into the women's restroom and using sexual innuendos. When she raised a complaint, she was allegedly threatened by the supervisor. P Srinivasan of the Red Flag Union said, "We have received several complaints from women in the past.
But in many cases, incidents go unreported because it is an issue of their livelihood. If they are from Corporation-controlled zones, we can approach the civic body, but when the incidents are from zones under Urbaser Sumeet or Ramky Enviro, we don't know whom to approach." Meanwhile, corporation officials said both Urbaser Sumeet and Ramky have internal committees to address such issues. "As far as the city corporation is concerned, there is a committee headed by the chief medical officer and other women health officials," said a senior corporation official.
If having suicidal thoughts, contact Tamil Nadu’s health helpline on 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline on 044-24640050