Sanitation workers in Haryana towns extend strike for three more days

Shastri said that the state has nearly 25,000 safai karamcharis but only 10,000 of them are regular karamcharis of urban local bodies department.

Shastri said: “Now, the government has planned to bring contractual safai karamcharis under the purview of Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam. But employees are opposing this move because they won’t be regularised after coming under the ambit of this body. They won’t get the salary on the concept of equal work-equal pay. They would not have the right to move courts to seek regularisation.”

Shastri said: “Even those safai karamcharis have not been regularised who have been working for the civic bodies for the past 25-30 years. After attaining superannuation, they are not getting retirement benefits. Apart from safai karamcharis, other employees of municipal bodies are also on strike for their demands. But we have decided to continue water supply service in the normal way and attend the calls of fire emergency.”

Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal Saturday appealed to safai karamcharis and fire brigade staff to return to work.