Contract sanitary workers stage dharna for wage hike
As more than 800 contract sanitary workers are carrying out cleaning operations within the city, they were demanding increased wages and extension of social security schemes like employees' provident fund and Employees' State Insurance Scheme, besides a few more benefits.
When the sanitary workers affiliated to the AICCTU struck work on Wednesday morning, cleaning operations came to a grinding halt and the agitation intensified when the protestors staged a dharna in front of the Corporation's administrative office around 7 a.m. to highlight their demand.
When the Corporation officials chose to ignore the agitation, the sanitary workers sat on the Thoothukudi – Tirunelveli highway to block the vehicular traffic.
After the police, who diverted the traffic, held talks with the protesters, they moved to the roadside to continue their protest till afternoon.
As Mayor Jegan Periyasamy held talks with them in the afternoon, he assured the protesters that he would persuade the contract firm to increase their wages and the dharna was called off around 5 p.m.
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