VISAKHAPATNAM: Demanding the government to clear their long-pending demands, sanitation workers, affiliated to the CITU, went on a strike in Visakhapatnama, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. However, those affiliated to the other unions did not join the stir and were attending their duties.
The CITU had been demanding the government to implement 25 per cent of interim relief to the outsourcing workers immediately and blamed the government for the inordinate delay in implementing the same, despite the givernment having agreed to the demand sometime ago. The CITU also demanded an increase in the wage of the sanitation workers from `8,500 to `13,500. Following the government’s lack of response, the strike was started.
In Vizianagaram, CITU leader TV Ramana, addressing a dharna, alleged that the municipalities were deputing the sanitation workers to the other departments.
He demanded that all the deputations be cancelled and ensure that the workplace be confined to municipalities only.