The BBMP Pourakarmika Sangha, whose members are involved in the transport of solid waste, have threatened to go on strike from March 20, demanding that the jobs of waste collectors be regularised.
They also want the BBMP to end the contract system for garbage collection as it is against labour laws and "exploits" the workers. Implementation of the IPD Salappa report was among the other demands.
Hundreds of workers staged a protest at the BBMP head office on Monday and submitted a memorandum to the Joint Commissioner (Solid Waste Management).
“These workers, including helpers, loaders, cleaners and auto-tipper drivers, do not get even minimum wages and have not heard about ESI or PF. To make matters worse, they are not provided with essential safety gear and many of them get infected with various diseases,” the Sangha said in a release.
According to an estimate, there are close to 7,000 workers across the city who pick up garbage from households and transfer it to be processed further.
The state government had recently passed an order regularising nearly 17,000 pourakarmikas from across the state.
(Published 14 March 2023, 21:55 IST)
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