Workers protest as BVG India cuts pay

Nagpur: Drivers of one of the door-to-door garbage lifting companies — BVG India — stalled work on Monday morning to protest salary cut by the company management.
A senior NMC official confirmed that the firm has offered 15 days salary to many new employees. According to the official, garbage collection has reduced drastically amid the lockdown affecting the firm’s earnings. In order to overcome this, the company decided to pay 26-day wages to old staffers, while payment for 15 days to newcomers.
To protest this disparity, several employees of BVG India stalled door-to-door garbage lifting work. “Some who had already collected the garbage chose not to dump it at Bhandewadi yard,” said the official.
Sources said after allegations of garbage scam were levelled against the company, BVG decided to reduce the wages of its employees.
Shiv Sena coordinator Nitin Tiwari had alleged that to increase weight of garbage collected, BVG India had mixed mud in the waste before going to weigh bridge of NMC’s solid waste management department. After the allegations, the total garbage collection from zones 6 to 10 had reduced significantly, the Sena leader pointed out.
The official said the stop work was, however, later withdrawn as BVG workers resumed duty. Standing committee chairman Vijay Zalke on Monday set up one-member committee to conduct an inquiry into the allegations levelled by Sena against BVG India. Tiwari had raised the issue though deputy municipal commissioner Dr Pradip Dasarwar had given a clean chit to the company.