THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sanitation workers who were reinstated in service have asked the city corporation to launch a probe into the alleged lapses of their supervising officers. The workers said they resorted to the bizarre protest by trashing Onam feast because the officers made them clean up drains for extra hours before the feast.
The workers are also irked by a reference in the order reinstating them --- that the suspension of seven staffers and dismissal of four others were revoked on the basis of their apology. They say they had given petitions to the mayor and additional secretary after the disciplinary action.
“Both communications explained the situation which forced us to go for a protest. We didn’t apologise because it was not our mistake. The reference to an apology that we never made is an insult to us. A fair probe into the incident will reveal that we were forced to protest,” said a worker who did not want to be named. The workers have orally communicated their displeasure on the reference to the mayor’s office. On Wednesday, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation Workers Association (TMCWA) affiliated with the CITU organised a meeting to explain the happenings. All the workers who faced action are members of the association.
The city corporation suspended seven permanent sanitation workers and sacked four temporary workers for trashing the Onam feast as part of a protest on September 3. The workers were protesting against their supervising officers who made them clean up the drains and deal with slaughter waste before the feast. Though they had reported two hours ahead of the normal duty time, they were relieved only one-and-a-half hours late. The feast was arranged with the fund raised by the workers for Onam celebration in office.
Mayor Arya Rajendran on Wednesday heard the version of the 11 workers and their colleagues. She had faced criticism for taking action without hearing the staffers’ version. The corporation, however, has not announced a comprehensive probe into the incident as demanded by the workers.