Contract workers to go on strike on May 20 if GCC does not fulfil demands, says Madras Corporation Red Flag Union

CHENNAI: The Madras Corporation Red Flag Union members on Wednesday staged a protest at the Ripon Building and threatened to strike work on May 20 if their demands were not met by the city corporation.

Timely crediting of salaries to contract workers under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) and Nominal Muster Roll (NMR) and giving them permanent jobs were among their demands. The union also alleged that the civic body was planning to move from deploying six sanitary workers with battery-operated vehicles to deploying two workers with an LCV to conduct door-to-door garbage collection.

The permanent and contract workers in all unions in the city planned to strike work on May 20 if their demands were not met.

The Red Flag Union also urged the GCC to provide Old age pension (OAP) for retired conservancy workers, as it has been delayed for a prolonged period, and increase the dearness allowances (DA) for permanent workers.

"On May 3, along with other unions in municipal, we are planning to give the strike notice to the GCC Commissioner. The Chennai corporation should increase the number of cleaning NULM workers in the respective zones. A delay in the salary credit makes it inconvenient for contract workers. The March month salary was credited on April 20," said the union's general secretary, P Srinivasalu.