The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Tuesday, May 30, announced the sanctioning of around 2,000 temporary sanitation workers in the city. The Royapuram (Zone 5) and Ambattur (Zone 7) zones alone have been allocated 966 and 1081 temporary sanitation workers respectively, under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM). The Corporation’s move was announced despite Chennai’s sanitation workers’ sustained demands for regularisation of jobs, better pay, better working hours with weekly off days and other benefits.
Through a press release, the GCC announced that the decision to recruit 966 temporary sanitation workers for Royapuram, for a period of six months starting from June 1, was finalised due to a shortage of permanent workers. As per the Corporation’s own estimates, Royapuram needs a total of 2,106 sanitation workers. However, only 1,096 permanent workers are currently employed by GCC. To fill the 1,010 vacancies, the Corporation has approved 966 workers under NULM, thereby increasing the number of temporary sanitation workers at a cost of Rs 8.88 crore. The other 44 vacancies are to be filled by sanitation workers from the NGO Sulabh International.
Meanwhile, in the Ambattur zone, 1081 temporary sanitation workers were already employed by the GCC under NULM till April 15, 2023. Upon the completion of their tenure, the Corporation has decided to continue recruiting temporary workers for a period of 183 days (nearly three months), at a total cost of Rs 13.33 crore. The Corporation has also decided to recruit 40 temporary sanitation workers through NULM for GCC-run schools in Valasaravakkam (Zone 11).
Further, the Corporation has extended its decision to rely on temporary workers in two other zones — 159 temporary workers for Sholinganallur (Zone 15) and 140 temporary workers for Madhavaram (Zone 3) — for various positions including the construction of stormwater drains, roads, and parks among others. GCC has allocated a total of Rs 2.46 crore and Rs 2.17 crore towards hiring temporary workers in Sholinganallur and Madhavaram respectively.