Employees of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) on Wednesday protested at Jantar Mantar and outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence and decided to go on a three-day strike from Thursday over non-payment of dues.
Over 1.5 lakh MCD employees including sanitation workers and other employees of the three municipal corporation will go on strike from Thursday, Rajender Mewati, the General Secretary of the United Front of MCD Employees Associations said.
“The issues of salary and arrear payment have affected all the employees of the municipal corporations, including the doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, sanitation workers and other class III and IV staff, who have not been paid salaries for upto three months,” he added.
Employees will wait for three days for the Government’s response and in case their demands of the payment of salaries and dues were not met, they will go on an indefinite strike.
As a matter of record, the three municipal corporations-South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and North Delhi Municipal Corpoartion (NMC) have a total of around 1.25 lakh employees, including about 60,000 sanitation workers, the municipal officials said.
“We are now on an indefinite strike as both the Delhi Government and the municipal corporations have failed to meet our demands of payment of regular salaries and arrears among others. A memorandum of our demands was handed over to an official during protest at Kejriwal’s residence,” said Sanjay Gehlot, president of Swatantra Mazdoor Vikas Sanyukt Morcha.
The MCD employees are on strike as salaries are delayed by up to three months while arrears have not been paid from many years. They have also raised demands for regularisation of contract workers, health cards and other service related benefits, one of the protesting employees who was part of the agitation on Jantar Mantar said.
From Thursday morning the national Capital will see garbage strewn all over the city following the strike called by the sanitation workers as will stop collecting garbage from their respective areas and zones. According to the municipal corporation employees, on an average Delhi produces about 15,000 metric tonnes of garbage per day. “With so much of garbage lying in residential colonies, markets and other areas, the health of Delhittes will be impacted. It will also add to the already worsening air pollution in the city”, said a health official.
“The tonnes of garbage dumped openly on the streets of national Capital can pose serious threat to the health of residents. The open exposure of waste can cause serious water-borne diseases, increase bacterial infection leading to breathing ailments. Also, the decaying household waste items like rotten vegetables, fruits and meat items may give rise to water-borne diseases like typhoid, jaundice, and diarrhea”, the official added.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Harsh Malhotra, Mayor of East Delhi Municipal Corporation said, “According to the 243 article of the Indian Constitution, it is the duty of the State Government to release funds for the corporation. Alleging that the AAP Government is doing petty politics, Malhotra said, “Till date the Delhi Government has released over Rs465 crore of funds and Rs1,100 crore is pending with them.” He alleged that the AAP Government is trying to portray a wrong picture of MCD as they are eyeing the 2017 municipal elections.
When contacted North MCD Mayor Ravindra Gupta, he said, “The Delhi Government has not released a single penny for the north MCD. About Rs1,200 Crore is still pending with the Kejriwal government and over Rs3,000 crore are yet to be paid to the three corporations with by the Delhi Government”.
On the other hand, South MCD Mayor Subhash Arya said about Rs1200 crore rupees meant for them was yet to be released by the AAP led Government.
Calling Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejrwal as a ‘trouble maker’ for Delhiites, Mayor of North Municipal Corporation said, “If due to exposed garbage on streets, if health epidemic spreads in Delhi causing health issues to people, Kejriwal should be held responsible, who has flown to Bangaluru after leaving Delhiites to fend for themselves in the light of the employees’ strike.”
Not able to pay his son’s school fee, Rajendra who is so helpless, has now planned to transfer his son to Government school from private school. “We don’t want such Aam Adami Government, or Acche Din, if there is blame game over salary dues between Delhi government, Centre and BJP ruled MCD,” said Rajender Mewati, general secretary of the United Front of MCD Employees Associations.
“We are not able to fulfill even the basic needs of our family and other household requirements. How can a person work with empty stomach….,” said Mewati.
All the employees of 12 wards, 272 wards including civic centre, EDMC, NDMC will halt their work. While doctors are claiming that medical services will not be halted, however, there will not no classes in municipal schools as teachers will not perform their duties.
Workers attached to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) had gone on strike over similar demands in October last year. But the strike was called off after Delhi High Court directed the city Government to release funds to the Corporation.