Abohar: Seeking arrears, sanitation workers to go on strike

Abohar, July 11

Regular Safai Sewaks (sanitation workers) of the Municipal Corporation today announced to go on indefinite strike demanding payment of outstanding salary for the months of April, May and June.

Earlier, adhoc staff working under the umbrella of Safai Sewaks Welfare Society had observed four-day strike which was called off only when the MC recommended that they should be allowed to work directly under it at scheduled wages.

Sources said that after becoming a municipal corporation from municipal council in the year 2019, the expenditure of the MC has increased four times while there has not been much increase in the sources of income. The MC has to spend about Rs 2 crore each month on salaries, while the average income is only half of this. This hurdles regular payment of salaries to the employees on time. There has also been a backlog in salaries for the past ten to twelve years due to the deficit budget. Whopping arrears were yet to be recovered from defaulters in property tax and other revenue sources, it is learnt. Due to delay in receiving the VAT share from the state government, disbursing wages becomes difficult, sources added.