NULM workers’ hunger strike enters fourth day
The police detained the protesters and sent them to the nearby hall. Later in the evening, they were all released.
NULM workers from the Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones gathered at May Day Park in Chintadripet (Photo: Justin George)
CHENNAI: A handful of cleanliness workers, previously employed under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) in the Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones, continued their hunger strike protest for the fourth consecutive day, by holding placards and 'submitting' petitions to the Ambedkar statue at Rajaji Salai, opposite the Chennai district collector's office, on Thursday.
The police detained the protesters and sent them to the nearby hall. Later in the evening, they were all released.
The tussle between the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the conservancy workers has been continuing for more than 45 days, with agitators opposing the privatisation of Solid Waste Management (SWM) in the Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones in the Chennai corporation.
One of the protesters told DT Next, “We don't have another choice, except submitting the petition to the statue of the father of the Constitution, BR Ambedkar. Wherever we go, the cops are detaining us and releasing us in the middle of the road. So we decided to continue our protest below the Ambedkar statue at Beach Road until our queries are fulfilled,” said Vellankanni, a protester.
“Notably, after the late-night detention on August 14, the cleanliness workers were denied permission to continue their protest. So they began a hunger strike protest in the house, but the police started detaining them everywhere they protested peacefully,” said K Jothi, a member of Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam (UUI).
“The cleanliness workers of the Royapuram and Thiru VI Ka Nagar zones have been illegally denied employment since August 1, 2025, while our case regarding outsourcing employment is pending in the Tamil Nadu Industrial Tribunal. This decision was made without the prior permission required by the Industrial Relations Act of 1947, making it a punishable offence committed by Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran,” said the statement in the petition.
“Additionally, the Tamil Nadu government has imposed restrictions on the freedom of speech guaranteed to us by the Constitution. It continues to obstruct our fundamental right to protest peacefully. Even female cleanliness workers who take part in an indefinite hunger strike in a designated area are arrested and left stranded on the street during the night,” it added.
Earlier in the day, cleanliness workers raised slogans, “Don't grab the democratic rights of the cleanliness workers”, and “Don't restrict the peaceful protest.” Meanwhile, the Left Trade Union Centre (LTUC) members have planned to address the press on Friday.