COIMBATORE: The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) Sanitary Workers Wing urged the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) to withdraw the alleged 1,200 kg daily garbage collection target imposed on dump truck drivers and sanitary workers, claiming that the target was putting workers under physical strain and threatened their safety.
In a representation to the CCMC Commissioner, the union's general secretary S Stalin Prabhu alleged that private solid waste management contractors were forcing workers to ensure that each dump truck brought 1,200 kg of garbage every day. Workers who failed to meet the target were allegedly threatened with wage deductions and termination, he said.
The union claimed that the pressure to meet the target was forcing drivers and sanitation workers to make repeated trips and handle excessive quantities of waste, raising concerns over their working conditions.
Referring to the Supreme Court's judgment in Safai Karamchari Andolan vs Union of India, the union said the dignity, livelihood and safety of sanitation workers must be protected and that they should not be subjected to inhuman working conditions. "The lives and human rights of sanitation workers and dump truck drivers cannot be compromised for the profits of private contractors," said Stalin Prabhu.
The union urged the civic body to direct contractors to restrict garbage loading to the vehicles' permissible carrying capacity, which it claimed was 750 kg, and sought action against any contractor violating directions.
