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The Chennai police allegedly attempted a midnight crackdown on the protesting sanitation workers by issuing a dispersal notice on Wednesday, August 7 evening, claiming that the agitators had gathered near the Ripon Building “unlawfully.” The police have asked the protesters to vacate the premises immediately and threatened to prosecute them if they failed to comply with the orders.
Nearly 100 workers have been protesting against the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) for the past eight days over privatisation of solid waste management in zones 5 and 6, fearing loss of employment and also demanding regularisation of jobs.
In its notice police said that the “continued sit-in is likely to cause disturbance to public peace and safety and obstruct the movement of the general public and constitutes a violation of existing restrictions.”
The notice has been issued under Section 41 of the Madras City Police Act, 1888, states that the protesters from Zones 5 and 6, including members and leaders of the Labour Rights Movement, have “unlawfully gathered and staged a protest” on EVR Road since August 1.
The sanitation workers who were employed under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) have been protesting in front of the Ripon Building since August 1, demanding a reversal of the civic body’s decision to privatise solid waste management in zones 5 and 6. The workers argue that the move threatens their livelihoods, reduces job security, and increases the risk of exploitation.
The GCC has announced plans to outsource solid waste management in Royapuram (Zone 5) and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar (Zone 6) to private agencies starting August 1. These are among the few remaining zones yet to be privatised; 10 out of the city’s 15 zones are already managed by private firms such as Spain-based Urbaser-Sumeet and Andhra Pradesh-based Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd (REEL).
The protest is being led by several trade unions, including the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), Left Trade Union Congress (LTUC), Labour Progressive Union (LPU), and Uzhayipor Urimai Iyakkam (Workers’ Rights Movement).
The police warned that anyone defying the order may be prosecuted, arrested, and removed to a place outside Chennai city and could face imprisonment for up to two years, or a fine, or both.
The protest began after GCC officials informed NULM-affiliated workers on Wednesday, July 31, that they would now have to coordinate with private agencies. Additionally, workers in the morning shift who reported for duty on Thursday, August 1, were turned away.
Since then, many of the workers, some with over a decade of service, have stopped working and taken to the streets. Garbage collection in the affected areas has been disrupted, with workers from neighbouring zones temporarily deployed to manage the crisis.
