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The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], on Monday, August 18, criticised the remarks made by Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol Thirumavalavan opposing the permanency of sanitation jobs for Dalits.
Speaking to the media, CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam said that contract workers are legally entitled to permanent jobs after 240 days of work, but this has not been implemented in many sectors for years.
“Thirumavalavan's remarks regarding the job permanency of sanitation workers’ jobs is totally unfair. Job permanency is a legitimate and legal demand that has been consistently raised by workers and labour unions”, he said.
The CPI(M) leader’s statement came in response to Thirumavalavan's recent speech delivered during his 63rd birthday celebrations in Chennai.
At the event, Thirumavalavan said that while the demand for permanent government jobs may appear fair, it reinforces the notion that those who clean human waste, drains, and garbage should remain in such work.
“As a student of Dr Ambedkar, we cannot say that. In fact, we must oppose it. Supporting the demand just because they are Dalits is a very traditional way of thinking. Our demand must be to rescue them from this occupation. Around the world, technology has replaced manual scavenging and sanitation work. That must be our direction,” he said.
The VCK chief made these remarks in the backdrop of the recent protest by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) sanitation workers.
Responding to his remarks, Shanmugam cited the example of a woman whose parents were permanent sanitation workers. “Her parents raised her, supported her education, and she eventually completed a doctorate and became a college professor. If her parents’ jobs had been privatised, she might have ended up as a sanitation worker herself,” he said.
Shanmugam added that making these jobs permanent provides economic stability, job security, and other benefits, which help future generations move away from this occupation.
He further noted that the demand for permanency is not about perpetuating caste-based occupations but about protecting the rights of existing workers.
The issue gained traction after sanitation workers employed under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) staged a protest in front of the Ripon Building, the headquarters of the Greater Chennai Corporation, demanding that the civic body reverse its decision to privatise solid waste management in Zones 5 and 6.
Under the NULM scheme, workers earn about Rs 23,000 per month. But after privatisation, their wages may drop to around Rs 15,000. While private sector workers are eligible for Provident Fund (PF) and Employees’ State Insurance (ESI), protestors argue that the reduced take-home pay would make it difficult to cover basic living costs.
