CHENNAI: Councillors from the Left parties, the CPI and CPI(M), staged a walkout from the council meeting on Tuesday, protesting against the privatisation of solid waste management in Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones and the midnight arrests of National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) workers.
CPM councillor R Jayaraman raised slogans inside the council, opposing both the decision to privatise waste management and the detention of workers. The Deputy Mayor clarified that the arrests had been made in compliance with a court order.
CPI councillor M Renuka also joined the walkout. Councillors condemned the Corporation’s move, insisting that waste management should remain under the control of the civic body rather than private contractors.
The NULM contract workers, who have been engaged in conservancy duties for several years, have been demanding permanent absorption into the Corporation with regularised pay and benefits. They launched a 13-day sit-in protest outside the Ripon Building this month after the Corporation directed them to shift to a private contractor that had taken over conservancy work in the two zones.
While the workers sought to continue under the civic body’s contract with a monthly wage of Rs 22,000, the private operator reportedly offered only Rs 16,000.