Sanitation staff allege retaliatory action by Ooty civic body, contractor for seeking fair compensation, benefits

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Sanitary workers of Udhagamandalam Municipality protesting outside the municipal office on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: M. SATHYAMOORTHY Sanitation workers employed by the Udhagamandalam Municipality (UMC) struck work on Wednesday (July 1) and staged a sit-in in front of the UMC’s office, condemning the municipality’s “retaliatory action” against protesting workers. They announced that the strike would continue till their demands are met. The protest led to garbage pile up across Udhagamandalam town. The workers have been protesting against the UMC, alleging that they are not being provided with equipment such as baskets, brooms and cleaning supplies. They also alleged that vacancies were not being filled and that they were being told to work extra hours. “Workers are also not being allowed to avail of leave; benefits such as pension and gratuity are not being disbursed,” alleged one of the protesting workers, adding that a few of the workers eligible for pension under the Contributory Pension Scheme had not been provided with their benefits. The worker sought anonymity. They also alleged that damaged municipal vehicles were not being repaired and that contract workers were being compelled to work beyond eight hours a day, in violation of labour laws. The workers alleged that Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and Provident Fund (PF) contributions for the past year for contract workers had not been deposited and sought immediate payment of the pending amounts. They also demanded that wages be paid in accordance with the rates fixed by the District Collector. The workers alleged that instead of addressing their demands, the UMC retaliated by terminating the services of several contract sanitation workers. Condemning the alleged retaliatory action, sanitation workers again stopped work from Wednesday morning across Udhagamandalam Municipality and resumed their protest. During talks with Revenue Department officials, the workers maintained that dismissing contract employees withou