Dissatisfied with the fact that they were paid only Rs. 421 as salary though Rs. 648 was announced for them, the Coimbatore Corporation sanitation workers gheraoed the CCMC Commissioner and the Coimbatore Mayor.
Coimbatore: Coimbatore Corporation sanitation workers gheraoed the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Commissioner, M Prathap and the Coimbatore Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar in protest against the non-payment of promised salaries passed by the Council.
In December last year, sanitation workers in Coimbatore Corporation went on a continuous strike demanding payment of the salary of Rs. 721 as announced by the District Collector.
The stike was followed by several rounds of talks. At this stage, the workers' demand for a higher salary was accepted. In a meeting held on December 30, last year, at Victoria Mahal in Coimbatore Corporation, the Coimbatore Corporation announced a sum of Rs. 1,000 crore from January 1, 2020, on behalf of the Coimbatore Corporation for the benefit of the contract sanitation workers. A special resolution was passed to increase the salary amount to Rs. 648.
After several protests by the sanitation workers, the Coimbatore Corporation finally paid salaries to the workers on Monday. But only 12,865 of the total salaries of Rs. 421 per day has been paid to the sanitation workers.
The sanitation workers expressed their displeasure over the lower salary of Rs. 421 being paid to them instead of the announced Rs. 648 by the Corporation Council. The salary of Rs. 421 was paid to the sanitation workers at a public grievances redressal meeting being held at the Coimbatore Corporation premises.
The disgruntled sanitation workers immediately gheraoed the CCMC Commissioner, M Prathap and the Coimbatore Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar.
They questioned the CCMC Commissioner as to why the salaries as announced by the Council were not paid.
They demanded that the salary announced by the Coimbatore District Collector should be paid.
"At present, salaries are being paid only after the ESI-PF money is deducted. I would like to inform the sanitation workers that the salaries announced in the resolution should soon come into effect," reassured the CCMC Commissioner.
The sanitation workers who were in no mood to be appeased alleged that the Coimbatore Corporation was acting in a manner that was deceiving the workers. "The Corporation is exploiting the labour of the labourers. Now we will talk to the Federation and make a decision on striking work again," they warned.