The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Will the new contract benefit women pourakarmikas?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Will the new contract benefit women pourakarmikas?

Afshan Yasmeen

The BMP's new garbage contract will come into force in January

HOPELESS: BMP contract workers are forced to work in appalling conditions for a meagre salary. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE: Toiling for nine hours from 6.30 a.m. daily, Kalyanamma, a pourakarmika working for a private garbage contractor in the city's west zone, gets a meagre salary of Rs. 1,400 per month.

She could not even rest when she suffered from chikungunya recently. She continues to work without a word of protest. She is afraid that if she raises her voice, she may lose her job.

With the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike's (BMP) new garbage contracts coming into force from January, women pourakarmikas working for the existing contractors are worried that the new contractors may want to appoint fresh hands.

"I have worked for six years on contract with the only hope that my services will be regularised some day. Though that still remains a dream, now I only hope that my services will be continued by the new contractor," said Subbamma, another civic worker.

Though the BMP had stipulated minimum wages of Rs. 1,800 a month for contract pourakarmikas, they are still being paid between Rs. 1,200 and Rs. 1,500.

This is because the BMP has done nothing to enforce this rule till now. Several protests and rallies by the Support Group for Contract Pourakarmikas comprising human rights organisations, women's groups and concerned citizens, have been in vain in the past.

Now the BMP has fixed the monthly minimum wages for the contract pourakarmikas at Rs. 2,075. "These wages will increase as per the changes in rules in the Labour Department. This time we will do all that is required to enforce this condition. We will also ensure that the workers get group insurance and provident fund benefits. This will take their total monthly wages to around Rs. 3,000, which will be paid through cheques," BMP Deputy Commissioner (Health) Manu Baligar told The Hindu on Monday. But the workers refuse to believe this.

"This was what we were told when the garbage contracts were awarded in May 2003. Then, the Karnataka High Court directed the BMP to ensure the payment of Rs. 1,800 a month to all the contract pourakarmikas and all other amenities due to them under the Contract Labour Act. But all these conditions were ignored," S. Anjaneyelu of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) Guttige Pourakarmikara Sangha said.

Three years ago, the Support Group for Contract Pourakarmikas carried out a survey and prepared a fact-finding report on the working conditions of the pourakarmikas.

The group, which demanded essential medical facilities, identity cards and wage slips as per law for the contract workers, had alleged that both the BMP and the contractors were violating the Contract Labour Act.

The findings revealed that women workers faced extreme oppression.

It said though they were prone to serious health hazards and accidents at work place, they were not entitled to medical benefits, sick leave or compensation.

Now, whether the new contract will bring relief to the women workers remains to be seen.

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