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Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda is facing strong criticism for his remarks towards pourakarmikas (sanitation workers), whom he asked if they deserved to be paid, claiming that there was 30% absenteeism among the workers.
On Saturday, September 5, the Minister, who was carrying out an early morning inspection in Horamavu, Ramamurthy Nagar, Agara Lake and other areas to review garbage collection, footpaths, potholes and other issues, interacted with pourakarmikas at Agara Lake.
During the meeting, the pourakarmikas demanded job regularisation (permanent jobs), to which Gowda questioned why they should be regularised when there was 30% absenteeism among the workers. “How can we make those who don’t come to work permanent?” he asked.
A video of his remarks went viral on social media, prompting criticism from many, while others, such as Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, supported the Minister.
Kiran said on X: “Well said Krishna Byre Gowda our pourakarmikas need to first demonstrate responsible workmanship. Unless the city is clean no question of permanent jobs.”
The writer and theatreperson Du Saraswati, who has worked with pourakarmikas and directed a play Porake Haadu (song of the broom) in which pourakarmikas themselves act, also criticised the minister.
“If Krishna Byre Gowda had known how many tons of garbage are thrown out of Bengaluru city in a day and how many poor Dalit workers have died falling into cesspools, he would not have spoken like this,” Saraswati told TNM.
She said Kiran Majumdar-Shaw’s response to the minister’s remarks was not surprising, but cautioned that the minister should be criticised for his words, as an elected representative from a party which was supported by Dalits.
“This reflects his casteist feudal mentality. All those who believe in the Constitution that expressed Ambedkar’s aspirations should condemn the intolerance expressed by businessmen and ministers regarding the fact that sanitation workers who still collect garbage without proper safety equipment have fought for 20 years and have obtained permanent status,” Saraswati said.
The All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), which represents several pourakarmikas, demanded an apology from the Minister for the “attitude of insulting and degrading the civic workers who work every day for the cleanliness, public health and civic life of the city” in the name of urban development.
“Instead of speaking to the workers with minimum respect and humanity, he behaved with arrogance of authority. The AICCTU demands that the Minister clarify his behaviour and apologise to the civic workers,” the union said.
The union said civic workers were not just those who cleared the city’s garbage, but “frontline workers who make the city's civic life possible”.
“Without their hard work, the city cannot be kept clean and healthy. It is extremely wrong to think that public scolding, threatening or humiliating such workers is the efficiency of the administration,” the union said in a statement.
“A large number of women and workers from the Dalit community are involved in civic work, and they still face social inferiority, discrimination and humiliating attitudes. In such a situation, those in power need to act with more responsibility and humanity,” the statement said.
AICCTU also called on the government to stop victimising civic workers for the city’s problems. “Before blaming the workers, the government should introspect on the shortage of workers, vacancies, contract system, work pressure, delay in payment of wages, lack of safety facilities and administrative failures,” AICCTU said.
The union called on the government to ensure that workers’ rights are protected and that weekly leave, legal holidays, timely wages, safety equipment, social security and job security are ensured.
“The exploitation going on through contract and outsourcing systems should be ended, all workers should be made permanent and a direct payment system should be implemented,” the union said.
