Chennai: Safai Karamcharis panel talks tough to civic body

CHENNAI: Taking note of non-ISI rubber shoes and gloves distributed to Chennai corporation conservancy workers, National Commission for Safai Karamcharis warned of repercussions if the civic body and private contractors continued with the lacklustre attitude.

Jagadish Hiremani, member of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, after a grievance meeting with conservancy workers in presence of Chennai corporation officials and police officers, on Wednesday, said that the private contractors, employed by the civic body for taking up conservancy works are providing substandard safety equipment to conservancy workers exposing them to diseases.

“Conservancy workers in Chennai are given local shoes and gloves. They lack ISI standard. The corporation should take action to provide quality equipment to the workers,” Jagadish Hiremani told mediapersons in presence of corporation commissioner D. Karthikeyan.

Prior to the review meeting, Jagadish Hiremani also conducted field inspection and received representations from the workers.

Hiremani also directed the civic body to provide timely monetary compensations and jobs for next of kin of workers who lost their lives during work. “Although local bodies do not use manual scavengers, private persons are using them. Recently manual scavenging deaths have been reported in Chennai, Bengaluru and Coimbatore. Severe actions will be taken on persons who employ manual scavengers,” he added.

Urging the government to deploy machines to perform scavenging works, Hiremani directed the corporation to use robotic machines like Kerala. He also directed the Chennai Corporation to release payments to the contractors only if they distribute salary, benefits and safety equipment to workers properly.

Meanwhile, the conservancy workers and associations demanded wage hike as they are given mere Rs 346 per day for the dangerous job. “According to law, it is recommended that minimum wage should be '500 per day. Giving '346 is a violation of human rights” R. Ravindran of Government Employees United Forum, said.

Ravindran also demanded the implementation of contract labour abolition Act and said that all the contract workers in the solid waste management department must be made permanent.