Garbage crisis looms as civic workers’ strike enters Day 3

Coimbatore: Only 30% of the conservancy workers on contract with the municipal corporation turned up for work on Monday, the second day of the indefinite strike called by the workers association.
Hundreds of civic workers gathered at the collector’s office on Monday morning. As the situation turned tense due to swelling crowds, police detained some of them. Representatives of the association refused to meet the collector, who invited them for talks, until the detained workers were left off. Corporation commissioner M Prathap and district revenue officer Leela Alex also attended the talks.
The representatives urged the officials to increase the daily wages from 330 to 721 as revised by the collector recently, but the officials said that it can be implemented only after getting approval from the commissionerate of municipal administration, said R Tamil Nadu Selvam, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Annal Ambedkar Scavengers and General Employee Association. “We also demanded an 8.33% bonus, but the city corporation was ready to give only 3.1%.”
The revised wages can be implemented only after getting a directive from the government, Prathap said. “But we are considering the possibility of implementing an interim wage hike.”
The strike had led to garbage piling up on city roads. Garbage bins are already full. The puja festival will make the situation worse.
Meanwhile, workers of ESI Hospital also took part in the strike on Monday.
According to corporation sources, 90% of the permanent workers marked their attendance. As many as 2,750 permanent workers and 4,650 contract workers are working for the civic body.