As the Delhi Government reportedly promised to release Rs1,100 crore to MCDs by December to fulfil demands of sanitation workers, a group of striking workers announced to call off their strike on Sunday while rest are pressing ahead with the strike as they are not impressed with the verbal promise.
“The Delhi Government, through media, is claiming that strike is over but we are still firm on our previous stand. A few unions might have supported the Government but majority are in favour to continue their agitation till demands were not accepted. Those who participated in one-side talk with the Delhi Government are being expelled from the United Front of MCD workers,” said RB Unthwal, founder of the front.
The Delhi Government on Sunday said the three-day-old strike by municipal sanitation workers has ended, but one of the employees’ main unions said the protest was still “going on”. Aam Aadmi Party leader Dilip Pandey tweeted, “Municipal Corporation of Delhi workers’ strike is over. Various workers’ unions agreed that the Government had paid the fixed amount on time and more than the previous year.”
“The authorities have agreed on releasing the remaining funds for the (current) financial year 2016 before December,” Pandey said in a series of tweets.
However, the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Safai Mazdoor Congress, Rajendra Mewati, said AAP’s claim was false and that the strike was going on. “The strike continues as we have not ended it. AAP has made a false statement,” Mewati, who is also the coordinator of the strike, told media persons. “As many as 28 unions of sanitation workers were participating in the strike. AAP has spoken to a particular member of one MCD Swachhata Karmchari Union and declared the strike called off, which is not true,” he added.
Mewati said if the city Government really wanted to get the strike called off, it should have invited heads of all the participating unions for talks and reached a consensus on the matter. Mewati warned that sanitation workers would not clear the garbage till the Municipal Corporations of Delhi officials and the Government take note of their demands and fulfill them. “No one approached us regarding the fulfilment of our demands. Our strike continues and we will not lift the garbage till our demands are met,” he said.
Meanwhile, more garbage pile-ups were witnessed in the Capital on Sunday. The “Safai karamcharis” of all the three Municipal Corporations protested outside zonal offices along with houses of AAP MlAs and left garbage piling on the streets as a sign of protest. “The income being generated by us isn’t sufficient to satisfy our monetary wants and the federal Government has to launch funds without politicising the difficulty in public curiosity”, stated Ravinder Gupta, mayor of North Corporation. With the workers saying they will continue the strike till their demands are met, the situation is expected to worsen as Delhi saw idol immersion on Friday. The salary arrears of workers of the three corporations amount to Rs1,200 crore. Harsh Malhotra, mayor of East Corporation said that there was no way that the corporation could agree to the demands of safai karamcharis.