Conservancy workers oppose Corporation’s resolution to privatise solid waste management in two more zones

As an extension of a three-day hunger strike against the privatisation of solid waste management in Zones 5 (Royapuram) and 6 (Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar) by the Uzhaipor Urimai Iyakkam (Labour Rights Movement), temporary conservancy workers of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) staged a demonstration in front of the Ripon Buildings on Wednesday, July 3.

As an extension of a three-day hunger strike against the privatisation of solid waste management in Zones 5 (Royapuram) and 6 (Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar) by the Uzhaipor Urimai Iyakkam (Labour Rights Movement), temporary conservancy workers of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) staged a demonstration in front of the Ripon Buildings on Wednesday, July 3.

The Chennai police detained 65 of the protesters in Ayanavaram, 358 in a hall in Perambur Barracks and over 50 near Poonamallee High Road, since the demonstration disrupted traffic on E.V.R Periyar Salai at Kannappar Thidal, towards Chennai Central railway station.

Previously, the contract workers, appointed under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), had staged a protest at the Zonal Offices in May, demanding regularisation and salary hike.

K.Aisha, 42, claimed private companies will offer lower salaries. “My husband is differently-abled. As the sole breadwinner of the family who has to pay for rent, loans, college fees of my child and other expenses, a meagre ₹15,000 salary will not suffice,” she said.

Sulochana, 51, a temporary worker for nearly 15 years, claimed that she has been travelling from Padi to work in Collector Nagar under Division 89. “I have no kids, and my husband passed away. This work is my only source of sustenance. The private agency may not hire me considering my age,” she said.

Many workers alleged that the Corporation has not made appropriate toilet and drinking water facilities or provided safety gear for the workers and that they depend on locals even for basic needs. Sariba. B, a DAY-NULM worker of Division 90, claimed that the protest would continue until the civic body considered their demands and that the workers would discard the waste collected in their respective divisions at the Ripon Buildings to show their contempt in the upcoming days.

GCC Commissioner J.Radhakrishnan said the Corporation resolution mentions that the existing workers, after consultations, would be accommodated in the vacancies in education, health and other Corporation departments. They could be accommodated in other zones closer to their homes, so their travel time is reduced. He added that the salary provided by the private agency would also be looked into.