CHENNAI: Over the past decade, they toiled through disasters such as December 2015 floods, Cyclone Vardah and Covid-19 and were feted. Now, about 8,000 sanitary workers employed by the city corporation under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) have lost their jobs as the new contractors, Urbaser-Sumeet and Ramky Enviro have together employed 15,500 workers.
Of the 12,000 NULM contract workers with the corporation, 4,000 were absorbed by the new agencies who say that among the rest, those over 50, with diabetes and high BP cannot be employed. Those rendered jobless say there are few jobs in other sectors. The workers who each earned ₹391 a day now want the civic body to absorb them as permanent staff. A case is pending in the Madras high court in this regard.
R Shamila, a conservancy worker from Anna Nagar, termed it unfair as they had dedicated themselves to the city for the past 10 years and had been asked to leave without any notice. “I was earning about ₹12,000 a month and my family was dependent on this. Even during Covid-19 we went to the Covid positive houses and cleaned their homes as well, picked up their garbage. We have risked our lives for the city. When we went on January 11 to work, they said they cannot take us. They even refused to recognize us. To work with a private company is very difficult,” she said.
R Nagamani, a mother of three, said her life had turned upside down as her husband was also without employment. “We have worked harder than the permanent staff. We have worked late at night even during heavy rain, cyclones and floods. We are not scared of working harder but this is unfair,” she said.
A corporation official said employing the workers or terminating them was the government’s decision and that the civic body could not take a call on this.
“However, we have requested the contractors to absorb as many of them as possible and many of them have been offered jobs,” the official said.
Of the 12,000 NULM contract workers with the corporation, 4,000 were absorbed by the new agencies who say that among the rest, those over 50, with diabetes and high BP cannot be employed. Those rendered jobless say there are few jobs in other sectors. The workers who each earned ₹391 a day now want the civic body to absorb them as permanent staff. A case is pending in the Madras high court in this regard.
R Shamila, a conservancy worker from Anna Nagar, termed it unfair as they had dedicated themselves to the city for the past 10 years and had been asked to leave without any notice. “I was earning about ₹12,000 a month and my family was dependent on this. Even during Covid-19 we went to the Covid positive houses and cleaned their homes as well, picked up their garbage. We have risked our lives for the city. When we went on January 11 to work, they said they cannot take us. They even refused to recognize us. To work with a private company is very difficult,” she said.
R Nagamani, a mother of three, said her life had turned upside down as her husband was also without employment. “We have worked harder than the permanent staff. We have worked late at night even during heavy rain, cyclones and floods. We are not scared of working harder but this is unfair,” she said.
A corporation official said employing the workers or terminating them was the government’s decision and that the civic body could not take a call on this.
“However, we have requested the contractors to absorb as many of them as possible and many of them have been offered jobs,” the official said.
