Ahmedabad: Sanitation workers withdraw strike, will resume work today

However, after a meeting with the association representatives and the committee constituted three deputy commissioners to resolve the issue, the AMC, in an official release, declared the strike to have been called off by the association secretary Kalpesh Makwana.

Municipal Commissioner constituted a three member committee of deputy commissioners Dilip Rana, M N Gadhavi and Arjav Shah on Monday after talks with the association representatives failed.

Confirming this, Kalpesh Makwana said, “We were given it in writing assuring that our demands would be considered and presented in the standing committee when it is constituted. So we have called off our strike and will resume work on Wednesday.”

On the main demand of compassionate job to their kin, the committee assured the sanitation workers that after the civic body elections are over and the standing committee and general board are formed, due process will be undertaken by the solid waste management department to propose this demand.

The limitation of municipal commissioner who is appointed as administrator by state government’s order issued on December 10 without any power vested in him to take policy decisions was cited by the committee as the reason for not taking a decision at the moment.

The association had also demanded to discontinue the contract system for sanitation work from all across seven zones.

To this, the committee stated that with the ongoing Swachh Bharat mission, cities are awarded on their cleanliness parameters.

Thus, keeping this in mind and to ensure cleanliness across the city which is being undertaken by the contract workers at present, this system would not be changed.

The sanitation workers have been sitting on a dharna outside AMC‘s North West zone office since December 24.

The protesting sanitation workers claimed that on April 4, 2018, the AMC regularised 6200 safai kamdars but their kin are being denied job on compassionate grounds.