Sanitary workers prevented from selling scrap

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Angry workers from Reddy Company, which handles garbage waste collection in the city, have warned to go on indefinite strike from December 16, to demand minimum wages and other benefits. Fearing that the stopping of work could lead to a garbage issue in the city, the municipal corporation administration intervened and held a meeting with the workers and the company on Friday.

During the meeting, it was decided that sanitary workers operating ‘ghanta gadis’ should not sell scrap collected during their trip, as the company frequently faces fines due to the workers' mistakes. Furthermore, it was agreed that any fines imposed by the municipal corporation would be deducted from the wages of workers. An assurance was also given that the demand for minimum wages would be considered after March 2025.

The meeting, chaired by the head of the Solid Waste Management Cell Ravindra Jogdand, was attended by the leader of the workers union Hakim Shaikh and Reddy Company’s head Murali Reddy and Sattar Bhai.

Jogdand said, “The municipal corporation is playing a coordination role between Reddy Company and its sanitary workers. The discussion lasted for one hour. It was clarified that the company cannot currently pay minimum wages, but will decide to implement it after March 2025. Based on Friday's meeting, the municipal corporation will send a letter to workers on Saturday. After that, the workers will decide on the next course of action.”

The company claimed that workers employed on ghanta gadis are selling scrap along with dry waste, which is causing financial losses to the company. Besides, the company is frequently fined by the municipal corporation due to reasons such as GPS malfunctions, vehicles not following their assigned routes, and other errors—most of which are attributed to worker mistakes. Hence in future, the company claimed that it will deduct the amount of fines from workers' salaries in the event of such errors.