Cleanliness workers in Chennai protest against privatising solid waste management

CHENNAI: While the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) floated tender to privatise solid waste management in four zones in the city, the Chennai Corporation Red Flag Union along with cleanliness workers staged human chain demonstration at Ripon Building on Tuesday to withdraw the decision to protect the livelihood of the workers.

Initially, when the local body outsourced solid waste management, many sanitary workers lost their jobs and pay cut.

There is no assurance on permanent job once the zones are privatized in the city, lamented the sanitary workers of Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones (zone 5 and 6 respectively).

"At present, the salary for conservancy workers is Rs 23,000 per month, after privatizing the salary will be Rs 12,000 per month including PF. Job security and salary hike is important for the workers as most of them are breadwinners and dependent on this job, " said T Srinivasan, general secretary of Chennai Corporation Red Flag Union.

Several government buildings including Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, Ripon Building, High Court falls under Royapuram zone (zone 5) where the SWM has been maintained by GCC at present. But, when it is handed over to a private contractor there will not be proper waste management in the area.

"The private contractor focuses to clean only the main roads and VIP areas, they abandon the interior areas. Since, the north Chennai is already neglected by the government and when it is maintained by the contractor the situation will worsen in solid waste management, " said Murugan, a member of the union.

The cleanliness workers who were part of the human chain said that they would continue to protest until the government withdraw the solid waste management outsourcing in these zones. However, the GCC official stated that the decision was taken by the state government and we cannot withdraw tender.