Chennai: Conservancy staff to face pay cut if found without mask, gloves

CHENNAI: If a resident is found roaming or travelling on city roads without wearing a mask, she is fined 100-500 by Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) or police and also given a mask.
But, for the 22,000 conservancy workers, reporting to work without a mask or gloves can prove to be costlier. They will be asked to go home and will lose a day's salary.
This was revealed by corporation commissioner G Prakash recently. "Conservancy workers deal with waste and travel to many homes, thereby coming in contact with many people. We have to maintain the highest levels of protection for them. Already they have been given masks and gloves that are checked every day," said a senior civic body official.
Conservancy workers are paid around 12,000 each every month. Everyday at 7am, at every ward level, they have to undergo a roll call. "During this exercise, we check if they have a mask and gloves. If not, they are sent back home," said Prakash. An acknowledgement is taken from them when masks are given. "The attendance has remained at 90% and the conservancy work is better than what it was during non-Covid19 days," he said.
This stringent check is the reason why the number of Covid-19 affected among the conservancy workers is only around 200, which is only 1% of the total workforce. "Of this, 70% have recovered and returned to work as well," Prakash said.
Apart from this, all conservancy workers are also given kabasura kudineer before they start work at 7am. Zinc and vitamin C tablets are also given in a set of 10, which have to be consumed regularly, Prakash said.
"In case a conservancy worker comes from a containment zone, they are asked not to report for work and given full pay as well. If a worker is not feeling well and showing symptoms, they are tested for Covid-19," Prakash said.
Responding to allegations that conservancy workers are not tested for Covid-19, Prakash said that when detailed examinations are being done at hundreds of medical camps across the city, why wouldn't they test their own staff.
In case of the unfortunate deaths that have occurred, civic body has already started processing files based on the state government orders to provide ex-gratia for the deceased workers, Prakash said.