Strike by Mohali MC safai sewaks enters fourth day
Mohali, April 13
The work at the Mohali Municipal Corporation came to a standstill as members of the Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation continued to strike for a fourth continuous day. Because of the ongoing strike, the door-to-door garbage collection from the houses within the Mohali Municipal Corporation’s jurisdiction was also not carried out today.
Salary not enough to meet cost of living
We are being paid Rs 10,000 as salary per month for many years at this point. It is very difficult to sustain a household on such a meagre salary, as the cost of living has gone through the roof. The salary of all safai mazdoors should be increased to Rs 22,000 to meet the cost of living. Pawan Goindwal, Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation General Secretary
The protesting workers staged a demonstration at a park in Phase 9, Mohali. The Safai Sewaks raised slogans against the state government and officials of the Mohali MC.
The workers said they have been demanding an increase in their salaries as they have been working on the same pay for a long time. They added that in the meantime, the cost of living has “gone through the roof”.
The protesting workers claimed the strike would continue until the state government and Mohali MC officials met their demands. They said, despite assurances by the Mohali Mayor and the Municipal Corporation Commissioner, nothing solid has been done so far.
The state general secretary of the Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation, Pawan Goindwal, said that the workers have been suffering because of the lack of adequate pay for a very long time now.
He said, “We are being paid Rs 10,000 as salary per month for many years at this point. In the modern economy, it is very difficult to sustain a household on such a meagre salary, as the cost of living has gone through the roof. The salary of all the ‘Safai Mazdoors’ should be increased to Rs 22,000 to accommodate the cost
of living.”
The union members said over 200 Safai Sewaks employed for the cleanliness of the public toilets were on the verge of being unemployed as the new contractor has decided to allot only two workers per toilet instead of the already existing four. They said the MC officials have not addressed this particular situation either, because of which the workers hold resentment against them.
The protesters said the strike would continue until their demands were met.
