Sanitation workers of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) who collect garbage have issued a strike notice on Thursday, threatening to go on a indefinite protest from January 8, if the SCB fails to pay their two-month due salaries in the next four days.
SCB has nearly 100 garbage collectors with 26 vehicles who clear the garbage spread out across the 40km Cantonment area. The contract workers claim that they have not been paid for the months of November and December because of ‘paucity of funds’.
“We had reminded them about the pending payments on December 1 to the authorities. However, as they were busy with the elections, we did not bother them. After elections, when we wanted to go on a strike, President Ram Nath Kovind had come down for his sojourn. So the authorities pleaded with us and assured of settling the dues shortly. However, the promise still remains unfulfilled,” SCB Contract Workers' Union president, M Narasimha told TNM.
“We gave the strike notice to the Labour department, warning about our protest from January 8. If they don't pay our salaries by January 7, we will go on a strike from the following day,” he said.
Alleging indifference by the authorities, Narasimha says, “We went and explained our plight to the chief executive officer last month. However, he paid no heed to our suffering. Never in the past have we protested for our salary, this is the first time, we have been forced to,” he claims.
On Wednesday, the workers staged a dharna at SCB's office for one hour, warning the authorities about intensifying their protests.
The garbage collectors earn wages of Rs 7,000 - Rs 8,000, while the drivers earn around Rs 12,000.
Another Union member, Bhikshapathi added, “If they had given an assurance to us, they should have been the ones to reach out to us and resolve our issue. Instead, we are being forced to approach them regularly, only to be disappointed.”
Despite numerous attempts, SCB CEO, Chandra Sekhar remained unavailable for comment.