The unions had approached MC officials on Thursday for negotiations. But, no conclusive meeting could take place, it is learned.
The sanitation workers and garbage collectors of Chandigarh have announced an indefinite strike from Friday as Municipal Corporation of the UT is not fulfilling their demands.
The door-to-door garbage collectors have also decided to support the strike call by the Safai Karamchari Union.
While the sanitation workers are up in arms against wearing GPS-enabled smart watches, the household garbage collectors are opposing MC’s plans to introduce garbage collection vehicles and taking over the door-to-door garbage collection.
“No sanitation worker will pick garbage or conduct cleanliness work in markets, roads and residential streets. The garbage can pile up as the corporation has turned a deaf ear to our genuine demands,” union president Krishan Kumar Chadha said.
“It was decided in the meeting of all unions that door-to-door garbage will not be collected from Friday. Also, sanitation workers will not transport waste to the Dadumajra dumping ground. As many as 32 employee unions of various departments are supporting us. On Friday, we will march from the Medial Officer of Health office to MC office in Sector 17 and sit there on a dharna,” he added.
Meanwhile, insisting that their union was going on strike in support of the Safai Karamchari Union, Om Prakash Saini, president of the Chandigarh Door-to-Door Garbage Collectors’ Society, said, “Garbage will be collected from houses on Friday morning and depending on MC’s response to the strike, we will decide our future course of action.”
The unions had approached MC officials on Thursday for negotiations. But, no conclusive meeting could take place, it is learned.
Rajesh Kalia, former mayor and chairman of the MC sanitation committee, said, “I support their genuine demands, but advise the workers not to go on strike.”
