CHENNAI: Sanitation workers from Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar zones, led by UUI, LTUC and AICCTU, staged a hunger strike near Rajarathinam Stadium, Egmore, on Saturday, condemning the alleged unlawful dismissal of over 1,000 workers by the GCC since August, also urging Chief Minister MK Stalin to directly intervene and fulfil his 2021 election promise of job regularisation.
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam, who joined the protest, said, “Permanent jobs have helped many sanitary workers’ children rise in life, even becoming corporation commissioners. Without job regularisation, such progress is impossible. Until modern machines replace manual work, workers need job security, not exploitation under private contractors. Government must intervene and regularise their jobs.”
Speaking to reporters, UUI president K Bharathi said workers have been living in poverty and hunger for the past 86 days after their termination. He claimed, over past four years, each worker has lost Rs 2 lakh in wages as they were not paid in accordance with Minimum Wages Act.
“Instead of addressing unpaid salaries, the government is offering food,” he said referring to government’s announcement on free one-meal-a-day for GCC sanitary workers
S Sriram (38), a protesting worker, said, “The government will provide us food at the worksite, but who will feed my children? I can take care of them only if I’m paid fairly and my job is regularised.”
Bharathi questioned why sanitary workers were treated differently when 1,300 temple staff were recently regularised by HR&CE Department. “Is handling waste less dignified compared to working in temples?” he asked, adding, why minimum wages have not been implemented in all zones of Chennai and across all corporations in the state?”
