Safai Karmachari Andolan demands heatwave protection for sanitation workers

Highlighting the brutal intersection of climate crisis and caste injustice, the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) has demanded immediate State intervention and the “right to life” for sanitation workers operating amidst unprecedented, life-threatening heatwaves across the country.

With India currently witnessing some of the highest temperatures globally, making outdoor conditions virtually unlivable, the SKA pointed out that while heat protection measures are being discussed for other sectors, Safai Karmacharis remain entirely invisible. The organisation noted that workers are being forced to clean human excreta, drains, sewers, septic tanks, and railway tracks under direct sun exposure and inside toxic spaces filled with poisonous gases, which become even more deadly during extreme heat.

Terming the situation as caste violence intensified by climate injustice, the SKA stated that sanitation workers are collapsing from dehydration, suffocation, exhaustion, and toxic exposure, besides suffering from severe infections, respiratory illnesses, and skin diseases.

The group noted that women sanitation workers face even harsher conditions, spending long hours on roads without access to water, toilets, shade, or healthcare.

To safeguard these vulnerable workers, the SKA has put forward a list of immediate demands, calling for a complete stoppage of all sanitation work under direct sunlight after 9.30 AM during heatwave periods. It has also demanded a comprehensive prohibition of manual sewer and septic tank entry alongside the urgent mechanisation of all sanitation work across the country.

Furthermore, the frontline advocacy group has sought mandatory provisions of drinking water, ORS, shaded rest areas, washing facilities, and compulsory hourly breaks. To alleviate financial strain, they have demanded a heat-risk compensation allowance of at least 30 per cent additional wages for all sanitation workers.

The demands also include the immediate setup of emergency healthcare camps, comprehensive insurance coverage, and long-term health monitoring for sanitation workers and their families. To ensure strict enforcement, the SKA has called for criminal accountability for contractors and officials who continue to force workers into inhuman heatwave conditions.

Asserting that climate justice is impossible without caste justice, the SKA stated that the lives of Safai Karmacharis cannot continue to be sacrificed in the name of cleanliness, calling for an immediate end to the criminal neglect sustaining underpaid and stigmatised sanitation labour.