Excess delay in salary payment to MCD employees may lead to complete civic shutdown in the city as employee unions from all departments of the BJP-ruled corporations threatened to go on a massive strike.
Over 1.25 lakh employees, who have yet to receive their three months’ salaries and other dues, have given an ultimatum of two weeks, following which halting of services is likely to take place. The cash-strapped agencies, however said without getting special package, it will not be possible to ensure payments. Earlier, the national Capital had witnessed strikes by sanitation staff over the same issue but this will be the first time when all the other departments will join in.
The strike will affect the city heavily. The MCDs perform major key functions from ensuring cleanliness to maintaining birth and death records to running hospitals. The teachers and doctors were protesting against the constant delay in salaries and now the engineers, the horticulture staff and the DBC staff have all joined them, issuing a two week’s notice to the corporation. Notably, the agencies especially the North and the East have been struggling to make their ends meet while the South, which was earlier in benefit, has also announced a deficit this year. Even those from the South who have been receiving regular salaries have decided to join their brethren in a show of solidarity.
“We are quite sick of this situation where there is no surety of getting monthly salary. They had promised things would get better by the end of the year but nothing has changed. The situation has reached a point where we must go on strike if we want to get paid our dues,” said a doctor at a civic hospital, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, the East MCD Mayor Harsh Malhotra appealed to all employees unions to call off strike citing efforts to release salary. He informed that salary of sanitation staff for month of December has been released.
Parton of Joint Front of MCD Union and Ex-MlA Jai Kishan said, “One month salary is not enough for the MCD employees who haven’t got salaries for past six months. They are in huge trouble along with retired employees who have not got pensions.”