MADURAI: Sanitary workers' indefinite strike, opposing privatisation and demanding regularisation of employment, wage hike and bonus, entered its fourth day on Thursday. As a direct result, garbage collection was disrupted across several parts of the city, leaving heaps of waste to accumulate in residential areas.
Hundreds of workers -- affiliated with trade unions such as CITU, LPF and LLF -- have been on strike since Monday. For the third consecutive day, talks held by the labour department involving workers' representatives, corporation officials and the private contracting firm have failed to yield results, prolonging the impasse.
Speaking to TNIE, CITU Sanitation Workers' Association general secretary M Balasubramanian alleged that the corporation refused to meet the workers' key demand of minimum wages of Rs 754 per day, instead offering only a marginal hike. "Other demands remain unaddressed by both the corporation and the private contractor. Nearly 3,000 sanitation workers associated with various unions have joined the strike, which will continue until our demands are met," he said, and alleged official apathy.
Meanwhile, city residents are grappling with growing sanitation issues amid the strike. Madurai generates around 850 metric tonnes of waste daily, and with large sections of the workforce absent, garbage has piled up in several neighbourhoods.
Ward 92 resident K Saravanan said, "Despite repeated complaints, waste dumped on the streets has not been cleared for the last three days. Though bins are being cleared, garbage accumulated along the roads in residential areas is left unattended, causing health concerns and attracting stray animals."
Areas including Jaihindpuram, Munichalai, Villapuram, Avaniyapuram and several other localities reported massive accumulation of waste.
Corporation health officials maintained that cleaning works were being carried out with the available workforce, but residents alleged that the efforts were insufficient to address the growing sanitation crisis.