Sanitation staff go on strike over new timing

LUCKNOW : The sanitation workers of Lucknow Municipal Corporation went on strike on Tuesday to protest the order of the urban development department for starting cleaning of streets at 5 am. They mobbed the LMC office in Lalbagh, spread filth around the office and raised slogans against the administration. The LMC officials were taken aback by the sudden strike at a time when the city was being monitored by the Centre under the National Sanitation Ranking.

Till now sanitation workers were supposed to report for duty at 7 am. Recently, the urban development department passed the order that they would have to report on duty at 5 am, which irked the workers. The sanitation workers are already annoyed after the sacking of 3,000 of their colleagues in the city by LMC last month.

As a result of the strike, on Tuesday morning the streets and roads of the city were not cleaned. The municipal commissioner started negotiations with the leaders of sanitation workers but they were not ready to relent.

“The sanitation workers are already working in two shifts and are poorly paid,” said Dheeraj Valmiki. “The new diktat is the height of exploitation by the authorities . The sanitation workers will not follow the diktat as almost 40% of the workforce is women who have to send their kids to school and feed their babies. Recently, more than 3,000 sanitation workers were sacked without any reason. They should be reinstated,” he said.

Valmiki said, “The officials misbehave with sanitation workers and this needs to be stopped. Due to less workforce the work load on every sanitation worker has doubled.”

However, mayor Sanyukta Bhatia assured the sanitation workers of giving relaxation to all women sanitation workers in their attendance. The mayor said, “I have assured the sanitation workers that all the women sanitation workers with kids would be allowed to join their duties from 7 am.”

The sanitation workers have agreed to work for next three days after the assurance of the mayor but they have warned of strike if the timing of their work is not changed to 7 am.

Govt hikes payment to outsourced staff

The state government has increased the daily payment to outsourced staff deployed for cleanliness. These outsourced cleanliness staff would be paid Rs 366.54 each per day for their work—a 10 per cent hike in their payments that would translate roughly to an increase of Rs 30 per day. In March 2021, Rs 336.85 was cleared as payment against services to outsourced staff. “Now, instead of monthly payment of Rs 8,758, these outsourced staff each would be paid Rs 9,530 per month,” an official said adding that the hike was okayed by urban development minister AK Sharma.