As workers go on strike, waste piles up on road in Noida

NOIDA: Garbage has been piling up along the city’s roads as over 2,000 contractual sanitation workers of the Noida Authority have struck work for the past six days.
The protesters, who have not attended work since June 6, have been demanding that their salary be revised because of the rise in the prices of groceries and other essential items. Since 2,000 contractual workers are on a strike, the entire responsibility of picking up waste and disposing has fallen on the 1,400-odd employees of the Noida Authority. As a result, garbage pick-up and the cleaning of roads and drains is getting delayed.
Satveer Kumar, a contractual worker, said most of them had been working for the Authority for over a decade. “Look at the inflation, the prices of goods are burning holes in our pockets. It is becoming increasingly difficult for us to run our houses. We want the Noida Authority to revise our salary and also give us benefits like PF and health insurance,” he added.
The residents are having to bear with the lack of upkeep in their sectors. “In our area, the Noida Authority had engaged 30 sanitation workers. They were involved in sweeping the roads and parks, and cleaning the drains and garbage. But now, only 12 of them are working. The Authority should resolve this at the earliest,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Sector 51.
Anil Khanna, the president of the Sector 41 RWA, said there were 32 sanitation workers in his area. “At least 5-7 workers are absent every day. Even in May, the workers had gone on a strike for three days. The Authority should hold a meeting with them and fix the issue. They should engage contractors who are competent and can handle situations so that there are no strikes,” he added.
The Authority has 4,838 sanitation workers in total — 1,469 are its own employees, 2,830 are engaged by contractors and 539 others are involved in mechanised sweeping.
On May 30, the contractual workers submitted a letter with their demands to the Authority and warned it about their call for a strike from June 6.
SC Mishra, deputy general manager (public health) at the Authority, said the contractual workers were paid Rs 14,600 a month each. “This is the fifth time that sanitation workers have struck work this year. In the past seven years, their salary has seen a 100% rise. In April last year, the Authority had increased their salary by Rs 3,000 a month. We are in talks with them to resolve the issue,” he added.
Mishra said even if some of the workers wanted to work, the leaders were forcing them to join the protest instead. “This has affected upkeep and mechanised sweeping of the roads as well,” he added.