The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Pallavaram conservancy workers' stir continues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Sep 22, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Pallavaram conservancy workers' stir continues

Staff Reporter

Conservancy staff want privatisation move revoked

TAMBARAM : The strike by conservancy workers of Pallavaram municipality entered its second day on Thursday, with the protesters saying they would not give up agitation until the local body revoked its decision to privatise collection and disposal of garbage.

Almost all 281 employees engaged in cleaning streets, clearing silt from storm water drains and garbage kept away from work on Wednesday.

They said while the requirement of conversancy staff was more than 500, the present strength of 281 was not sufficient. The All India Trade Union Congress is heading the agitation.

The agitators said that as the present government had softened its stance on recruitment of government staff, (the ban was imposed by the previous regime), steps should be taken to appoint additional staff, apart from providing jobs to children of those workers who died in harness.

Officials said the decision to privatise was taken following a resolution passed by the Pallavaram Municipal Council.

Based on the calculation that there should be one street cleaner for every km of road and two workers for every 250 households, the municipality needed 518 conservancy workers.

And recruiting another 250 workers could not be done at a single stroke. The municipality had roads 180 km of roads and about 35,000 households.

Moreover, Pallavaram was among the last municipalities yet to commence privatisation of garbage collection and disposal. They said privatisation would not in any way affect the interests or livelihood of the existing staff.

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