Sanitary workers' stir enters second day in Madurai; MP slams police
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Meanwhile, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan condemned the police action against the workers and questioned the state govt's approach of treating the protests as a law-and-order issue rather than a labour rights matter.
The stir, spearheaded by multiple trade unions including CITU, LPF, and LLF, is against the outsourcing of waste management to a private contractor and to press demands for higher wages, bonuses, and the scrapping of GO 152.
On Monday night, around 200 sanitary workers were detained after they organised a sit-in protest at the corporation office campus. They were released on Tuesday morning. Police personnel were deployed in strength around the corporation office on Tuesday, and all entrances were temporarily closed. Security officers frisked visitors, fearing attempts by the workers to resume their protest inside. Several residents who arrived for civic-related work in the morning returned thinking the office was shut.
The gates were reopened in the afternoon after the protestors withdrew.
Tension prevailed throughout the day as police warned workers that they would be arrested if they attempted to continue the sit-in. Following talks between union representatives, labour department officials, and police officials, the workers agreed to temporarily postpone their agitation after receiving assurance that a tripartite meeting would be convened.
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The meeting is scheduled to bring together corporation officials, representatives of the private solid waste management contractor OurLand, and labour department officers.
In the meantime, the workers have announced that they will hold a protest in front of the Madurai collectorate on Wednesday morning before the talks, slated for the afternoon. CITU workers union president Bala Subramanian reiterated that they would not call off their agitation permanently unless concrete assurances were given on their demands.
In a statement on Tuesday, MP Venkatesan alleged that while the private contractor committed repeated violations, no action was taken, whereas workers pressing for their rights were swiftly detained.
The corporation, in a statement on Tuesday, said that four rounds of talks were already held with the workers, during which their demand for wage revision was accepted and the request for a bonus referred to higher authorities. However, workers have insisted that their agitation will continue until GO 152, which enabled outsourcing of sanitation work, is withdrawn. Sanitary workers were detained later in the night to avoid any untoward incidents, added the release.
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