Staff facing health issues to be examined: Yadav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 27

MC Commissioner KK Yadav today told sanitation union members that those employees who claimed to be facing health problems due to wearing of GPS-enabled watches, would be medically examined.

Yadav said the names of such employees had been sought and they would be examined to find out if they really facing any problems.

Members of the union today met the Commissioner and demanded that the distribution of watches be stopped as these were causing health issues. They claimed that some workers were feeling giddy and some had got swollen wrists. They said the watches had more harmful radiation than mobile phones. They had earlier threatened to go on a strike if the issue was not resolved.

The MC introduced the GPS-enabled watches for marking the attendance of the field staff, checking misuse of the manual attendance system and getting rid of “dummy workers”. There have been complaints that several workers have been missing from their place of duty and working at some other undesignated places like officials’ residences. There were also complaints of several “ghost” workers getting salaries.

The corporation has procured about 4,000 watches to keep tabs on its field staff.

‘Officers need to use these watches first’

Chandigarh: “I am not against introducing technology to improve the functioning, but officers, before implementing any decision at the lower rank of the Municipal Corporation, should implement it first on themselves.” This was stated by Jagadish Hiremani, member of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, while talking to mediapersons here today. Hiremani was commenting on the decision of the MC to provide GPS-enabled watches to sanitation workers to keep tabs on their movement while on duty.

The corporation procured about 4,000 watches to keep tabs on its field staff. These are being distributed in a phased manner. The MC will pay a whopping Rs 18 lakh monthly rent for three years.

Even as the MC has spent huge money on the GPS-enabled watches to track its employees, sanitation workers have refused to wear these, saying it is like making them bonded labour. The Safai Karamcharis Union has vowed not to wear these watches. tns

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