Sanitation staff end strike as Panchkula MC agrees to demands

PANCHKULA: After three days of strike, the sanitation staff of Panchkula municipal corporation went back to work on Monday as the civic authorities agreed to consider their long-pending demands.

During a meeting with MC officials, the Panchkula safai karamchari discussed the various issues being faced by the sanitation staff in the city.

Joginder Singh, vice-president of the safai karamchari union, said that during the meeting they raised four major demands with the authorities. He said that around 1,000 employees of the MC, including gardeners, drivers and sweepers are demanding equal pay for equal work and the civic officials assured that the matter will be taken up with the urban local bodies for consideration.

In another issue, those employees working as supervisors since 2001 have not been sanctioned till date and are still mentioned as sweepers in MC’s records. The civic officials have agreed to consider it now, said the vice-president of the union.

The union members also highlighted Haryana government’s decision of 2014 which imposed a ban on allocating work to private contractors.

On this, the MC officials informed the workers that they have taken up the matter of regularizing the sanitation staff with the urban local bodies.

Joginder also said that they are demanding to revive the expired identity cards of the sweepers so that they do not face issues while performing their duties. In the meeting, the MC agreed to renew the ID cards of all the staff members.

The sanitation staff were on a strike since January 4 the Panchkula MC authorities for not accepting their demands. Joginder Singh said after the meeting all the staff members went back to work and start lifting garbage from the city.