Sanitary workers besiege Coimbatore district collectorate, demand wage hike

COIMBATORE: More than 200 contract sanitary workers of the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation besieged the office of the district collector office on Monday demanding a wage hike. The protesting workers alleged that they were being paid less than the sanctioned amount. According to them, as per the 2023 district collector’s orders, the sanitary workers were sanctioned a daily payment of Rs 770, but they were paid only Rs 500.

Raising these demands, they engaged in an unannounced protest before the Coimbatore collectorate and submitted a petition to collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar.

A protesting sanitary worker said, “As per the orders, we should be paid Rs 24,000 a month, but what we receive is hardly 15,000. A few of us get 16,000. We are even made to work overtime and do additional work. The salary we get is barely sufficient to run the family, pay the rent and pay the monthly bills. How can we afford better schooling for our children?”

Corporation officials held negotiations with the representatives of the protesting workers. A senior corporation official said, “We are paying them wages approved by the directorate of municipal administration. Besides, their demands for payslips have also been addressed, and a sample was issued to them. They also demand that the ESI and PF deductions be reflected in the payslip. This is under consideration because it is being deposited only after the 10th of every month.”

“Some discrepancies are due to a lack of proper documentation, like linking Aadhaar with a bank account. All these factors will impact the salary and their basic benefits, which we have also agreed to rectify through special camps,” the official added.