Revoke termination order, say DBC workers

Madurai City Corporation workers protest termination order, demand revocation and higher wages, citing unfair treatment and lack of proper uniform.

For the second time in a week, Domestic Breeding Checkers (BDC) of Madurai City Corporation, demanding to revoke the termination order issued by officials, staged a protest at the corporation office here on Monday. 

The workers alleged that the corporation officials only gave oral assurance that they would soon revoke the order, but they were not ready to believe that. 

“While the corporation officials claim that it’s a usual procedure in all the corporations in the State to terminate DBC workers once dengue-related works are over, in Madurai Corporation, when V.V. Rajan Chellappa was the Mayor, a resolution was passed in the council meeting to use DBC workers for all the purposes other than dengue eradication works,” said A. Bose, State secretary of DBC and Sanitation Workers’ Welfare Association. 

Despite their assurance to revoke the order, the officials were hesitant to answer responsibly when they were asked about it, he added.  In addition to this, they also demanded for raising the daily wage of the workers from ₹323 to ₹508 as prescribed by the Collector in 2016.

 “As these workers do not have a proper uniform and equipment, when they approach houses for disinfection, they are ill-treated owing to their appearance,” he added.  

If they were provided with a uniform like other sanitation workers, they would be treated with respect, Mr. Bose said.