CHENNAI: On August 11, 2025, they met a rising star from the opposition ranks, who lent a patient ear to their demands and offered all possible support, including legal assistance.
Now, a year and 12 days later, that leader is the chief minister, who also handles the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department. All they want from the film star-turned-Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is the same: give up privatisation, make jobs permanent, provide maternity leave, and increase wages.
Raising these demands, some of which were part of the TVK’s poll promises, scores of cleanliness workers, including women, affiliated with Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam (UUI) staged a road blockade outside the Tondiarpet Zonal Office on Tiruvottiyur High Road, before being detained by the city police on Sunday (August 23).
Their agitation, which ended up as a PR disaster for the DMK and its government, is now threatening to inflict similar damage on the TVK-led government, with the union leaders making it clear that their demonstrations will continue till the chief minister accepted their demands.
"When the government is planning to provide cars to all MLAs and a Rs 25,000 monthly salary to personal assistants, why can’t it support cleanliness workers who have served the city and its people for years? All we are asking for is one paid leave a week, proper toilet facilities, and a monthly salary of Rs 25,000," UUI president K Bharathi told DT Next.
The daily wage for temporary workers must be fixed at Rs 832, up from Rs 751, outsourcing plans should be dropped, and the government should grant food allowance instead of providing substandard food, he added.
These were the same demands that they pressed last year when the DMK was in power, and TVK was the challenger.
According to Bharathi, the workers have been protesting for three days. Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner GS Sameeran met with union representatives and assured that the demands regarding the reinstatement of 13 cleanliness workers and construction of toilets would be addressed.
When asked, Sameeran said while the corporation is reviewing demands like reinstatement of workers, key policy matters remain with the State government. "The decision regarding maternity leave and wage increase should be taken by the government," he said.
UUI members are planning to submit a formal representation at the Secretariat on Monday. If the authorities fail to receive the petition, the workers would start the second leg of the protest until the demands are fulfilled, they cautioned.
"The government has to remember that the protest had lasted for over 150 days since August last year. We will continue a similar long protest now," added Bharathi.