Sack striking sanitation staff: Gurugram RWAs
Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, October 29
As the strike by the sanitation workers of Gurugram Municipal Corporation (MC) stretches to around one month now, RWAs in the city have demanded immediate termination of the services of over 3,000 striking employees and handing over the sanitation work to the RWAs.
City’s sanitation infra collapses
The sanitation infrastructure in the city has collapsed. Our sector has a big market, which is a bulk garbage generator, and this waste is often dumped on the roadsides. After waiting for a month, we have hired a private contractor to clean the areas and are paying from our pocket. Rakesh Jinsi, Sector 17 RWA president
The old Gurugram — comprising MC licenced colonies and HSVP Sectors 14, 15 and 17 — is the worst affected as it is completely dependent on the MC staff for its general sanitation needs. With the staff absent for around a month now, the entire area has turned into a dumping ground.
The RWAs are now paying private contractors to get the areas cleaned, at least twice a week. The United Association of Gurugram RWAs has demanded the termination and penalisation of striking employees for holding residents to ransom.
“The sanitation status of colonies shifted to the MC has deteriorated over time. We don’t understand why is this strike stretching? Residents should not have to suffer for basic sanitation. We are shelling out large amounts of money and getting our own men to clean. What are we paying taxes for? Hand over the sanitation work to the RWAs, we will get it done like we carry out the maintenance of parks,” president of the association Praveen Yadav said.
The MC is now providing additional manpower and tractor-trailers to the RWAs for lifting garbage. As the private agencies are not covering the entire city, the MC has decided to provide manpower and tractor-trailers to clear the garbage.
MC Joint Commissioner Naresh Kumar claimed a majority of the staff on strike are regular employees, who enjoy all the official benefits.
“These people are striking, saying that they are protesting to get the jobs of the contractual workers regularised. This is no way to show solidarity. This is a policy matter and the MC has no role to play. The RWAs have put forth the demand of strict penal action against these employees. We are looking into their request,” he added.
Naresh Malkat, the state secretary of the Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh, said, “We never wanted to suspend our work and go on strike. We have been compelled by the MC to do so after they left as many as 3,480 workers jobless. It is not workers on strike, it is the MC on strike. We will clean the entire city in two days after these sanitation workers are called back on duty.”
