Case filed against cleanliness workers for sea protest at Marina beach
The workers, demanding permanent jobs and reinstatement under the civic body instead of private contractors, refused to leave the water despite repeated warnings from the Coastal Security Group, said a Daily Thanthi report
Visuals from the protest spot (Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: After the detention of cleanliness workers for protesting on Marina Beach on Wednesday, the city police have booked 83 of them, including about 50 women, on charges of unlawful assembly for entering the sea.
The Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam on Wednesday announced that sanitation workers protesting against their termination and the privatisation of waste management in the city will stage demonstrations at five locations in Chennai on Saturday (November 8), marking the 100th day of their agitation.
On Wednesday, after the protesters entered the sea demanding that the Chief Minister and senior officials meet their demands. The police pulled them out of the water and detained them.
Union representatives said that 1,953 contract sanitation workers were terminated earlier this year following the handover of waste management operations to private firms, triggering the prolonged agitation.
The workers, many of whom have been employed for several years as National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) employees, have been holding continuous demonstrations and sit-ins across the city.
