TIRUCHY: Amid concerns over the state government's plan to outsource sanitation work, the Tiruchy city corporation commenced door-to-door waste collection through a private firm, on Saturday. Senior officials confirmed that the move has not affected the 2,800-strong ground-level sanitation workforce.
Of the 2,800-odd sanitation workers in the city, around 1,800 of them work on a contractual basis. Around 1,180 of them have been assigned with the private firm to carry out door-to-door waste collection. "The remaining workers on a contractual basis will be allotted to micro-compost centres.
Thereby, none of the workers have to be wary of job loss," a senior corporation official said. Relieved of the anxiety over losing jobs, Mani, a sanitation worker, said. "Earlier, some of the union leaders warned us of job loss, exerting tremendous pressure on us.
We raised our concerns with senior corporation officials and the mayor. Though they gave us assurance, uncertainty loomed large. Now we are relieved." Officials said the garbage collection vehicles would be rented out to a private firm.
"They (private firm) would chip in their vehicles too. A GPS system will be installed in the vehicles to monitor the work. Failing to fulfil the work on time would lead to penalty or contract cancellation," another corporation official said.
Sources said the outsourcing move would affect only those skipping work for union or other activities. "It is an open secret that there are some workers who skip work after marking attendance. Such workers often ignore the directions of the officials as they have strong backing of the councillors. Outsourcing work would put an end to it as the private firm would terminate such workers," a source said.