Civic workers boycott work, take out protest rally

The members of Pourakarmika Mahasangha staged a protest in the city on Thursday, pressing the state government to regularise their services and fulfill several of their demands.

The protestors, who gathered in front of Dr B R Ambedkar’s statue near Town Hall, raised slogans against the state government and took out a protest march which passed through Gandhi Square, Sayyaji Rao Road, D Devaraj Urs Road and Metropole Circle before culminating at the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

As a mark of protest, the civic workers boycotted work and did not collect waste. As many as 1,445 cleaning workers, 189 underground drainage workers and 350 workers deputed on door-to-door waste collection remained absent from work.

The agitators said that as many as 45,000 civic workers are working on contract basic across the state. “The contractors are not providing proper wages and facilities to the civic workers. The workers have been deprived of provident fund and other benefits,” they complained.

The state government had assured the contract pourakarmikas of regularising their services in 2016, but nothing has happened till date, they alleged and threatened to boycott collection of waste if the government fails to fulfill their demand at the earliest.

Mahasangha president S Mara said, “We have been demanding regularisation of the services for the past several years, but the government is reluctant.”

Mahasangha office-bearers T Srinivas, S Murugesh among others were present.