The Coronavirus (COVID-19) scare has gotten to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) employees. They have demanded the biometrics to be shut temporarily for until the scare is gone and two of the municipal employee unions have written to BMC Municipal Commissioner, Praveen Pardeshi to immediately act on the request.

They have written how the virus threat has reached Mumbai and how easily it can spread. So to avoid any major issues, they have asked the BMC administration to shut down the biometric attendance system on a temporary basis.

"If the biometric continues, the spread of infection can be high and we cannot dismiss such a possibility. Thus to ensure the safety of the employees, the attendance should be taken in the registers," the municipal union of employees' member Ramakant Bane has written in his letter to Pardeshi.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) has already stopped using the bio-metric attendance of their employees as a precautionary measure. However, the BMC is yet to make a decision and employees were seen queuing in front of the machine to mark their attendance. Meanwhile, the BMC has issued advisories and arranged meetings with private hospitals to ensure that the city is prepared in case of COVID-19 outbreak.

Saturday, Sunday off

Meanwhile, starting today, BMC employees will get every Saturday and Sunday off but will have to work one and a half-hour extra every day throughout the week. However, the unions have opposed this decision stating that don't want an extra off and would want to work on regular time.

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