Firozabad Mayor Joins Sanitation Workers’ Protest, Promises To Stay Until Salaries Deposited

Contract sanitation workers and other contract employees staged a protest at the Firozabad Municipal Corporation premises on Monday over their various demands. The protest was held under the banner of the Uttar Pradesh Contract Sanitation Workers Union. A large number of sanitation workers, sewer helpers, door-to-door garbage collection workers and other contract employees took part in the demonstration.

The protesting workers sat inside the Municipal Corporation premises and raised slogans against the civic administration. They carried placards in their hands and demanded that their pending demands be fulfilled at the earliest.

During the protest, Municipal Corporation Mayor Kamini Rathore reached the spot and sat with the sanitation workers. She made it clear that she would continue sitting with them until their salaries were deposited into their bank accounts.

The workers’ main demand is that unskilled contract employees should be paid a monthly salary of 15,007 rupees and skilled contract employees should be paid 18,000 rupees. They demanded that these amounts be deposited immediately into their bank accounts.

The employees also demanded that no amount should be deducted from their salaries under any circumstances. According to the union, contract workers should receive the full amount fixed for their work.

The union alleged that Sainath company was getting contract workers to sign an agreement in the name of a contract, allegedly containing unfair conditions. The workers demanded that this agreement be cancelled immediately.

The protesting employees also raised demands related to financial support and employment for the families of workers who die during work. They demanded that the contractor provide financial assistance of 30 lakh rupees to the family of a contract worker who dies while on duty. They also sought the appointment of one member of the deceased worker’s family in place of the employee who died.

In cases of natural death, the workers demanded that the deceased employee’s family be given immediate assistance of 25,000 rupees for the last rites.

The employee union further demanded that its consent should be taken before any contract worker is transferred or appointed. It also called for an SIT investigation into alleged irregularities in contracts related to contract sanitation workers and other contract employees, as well as alleged discrepancies in the documents.

Employees stage protest again after one month

Mayor Kamini Rathore said that sanitation workers had also gone on strike on September 1 over their salary and other demands. At that time, the employees had demanded that sanitation workers in Firozabad should also be paid around 15,000 rupees, on the lines of Agra.

The mayor said that during the earlier protest, the MLA and the Municipal Commissioner had assured the workers that their demands would be considered. However, even after one month had passed, the demand had not been fulfilled.

Kamini Rathore said that if the employees’ salaries could not reach their accounts within one month, it would be difficult for them to trust assurances. She said the workers were stating that they would not leave the protest until their salaries were deposited into their accounts.

The mayor said she called the Municipal Commissioner and other officials to the protest site and held discussions with them about the workers’ problems. The officials said that the salaries would be deposited after the required signature process was completed.

Following this, Mayor Kamini Rathore asked the officials to bring the file to the spot itself. The issue of the pending salary payment was then discussed in the presence of the protesting employees.

Kamini Rathore said, “Until the salary reaches their accounts, I will also continue sitting here in protest with them.”

She said sanitation workers were not merely employees but were a part of the Municipal Corporation family. She pointed out that the workers managed the city’s sanitation system in winter, summer, storms and strong winds.

The mayor said that their demands should therefore be taken seriously. The employees sitting in the protest warned that if action was not taken on their demands soon, the movement would be expanded further.