STRIKE EFFECT: Heaps of garbage on a road near District Central Cooperative Bank at Eluru.

ELURU: The city is still struggling to switch back to normalcy a day after the strike by municipal employees was called off.

The overflowing garbage bins and drains still greet the passers-by in various parts of the city.

The three-day strike by the municipal employees backed by the Centre of Trade Unions (CITU), All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) took a heavy toll on sanitation and public health.

Ugly turn

Non-payment of wages by the Eluru Municipal Corporation for several months spurred the employees into an agitation. The protest took an ugly turn when a section of striking employees dumped heaps of garbage on the roads, inviting a strong rebuke from the public.

The unions leading the agitation sought to set the record straight by tendering an apology for the action of the employees during discussions with the city Mayor Kara Babu Rao.

Poor conditions

The poor economic conditions of the EMC reportedly led to non-payment of wages to all the categories of municipal employees, including 400 public health workers and 700 sanitary workers.

About 150 women sanitary workers engaged by the Self Help Groups on contract basis have also been deprived of wages for the last five months. The salary arrears accumulated up to Rs. 2 crores. With the Mayor's assurance to clear at least two months' wages by June 20, the employees called off the strike. Mr. Babu Rao told The Hindu that the employees resumed work from Saturday evening itself.

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