Five women cleanliness workers from NULM continue to fast for 4th day
The protestors, M Mahalakshmi, A Ashruf Begum, B Kuttiyamma, K Jothi, and G Vasanthi, are contract workers employed under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM).
Fasting unto death at the Communist Party office in Ambattur in protest of GCC’s move to privatise solid waste management
CHENNAI: Five women sanitary workers continued their indefinite fast for the fourth consecutive day on Monday at the Communist Party office in Ambattur, demanding that the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) roll back its decision to privatise solid waste management operations in Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones.
The protestors, M Mahalakshmi, A Ashruf Begum, B Kuttiyamma, K Jothi, and G Vasanthi, are contract workers employed under the National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM).
They are affiliated to the Uzhaipor Urimai Iyakkam (UUI) and the Left Trade Union Congress (LTUC).
One of the workers was hospitalised on Sunday due to health complications.
Speaking to DT Next, Vasanthi said, “We’ve been working for the past 14 years, even during floods, cyclones and the COVID-19 crisis. Now, the Corporation has decided to outsource solid waste management, putting our livelihoods at risk.”
The workers fear that privatisation could lead to significant salary cuts and job insecurity. “We started at ₹6,000 per month and now earn ₹23,000. If the work is handed over to a private agency, we may end up earning much less,” she added.
Jothi, another protestor, said she had raised her children alone after her husband passed away shortly after she began working. “My children still depend on me. Without a secure job and proper income, I won’t be able to support them,” she said.
LTUC state president S Janakiraman said the union has been raising the demand for wage revision and regularisation of NULM workers since 2021. He urged the Corporation to withdraw the privatisation plan. A case seeking permanent employment for sanitation workers is also pending in the Madras High Court.
Deputy Mayor Magesh Kumaar said he was unaware of the protest but claimed that the workers would be absorbed in other departments of the Corporation with the same salary. “There will be no reduction in pay,” he said.
Meanwhile, members of the Madras Red Flag Union (MRFU) staged a separate protest at the Regional Deputy Commissioner (North) office on Monday. General secretary P Srinivasalu said the move would impact the job security and wage growth of more than 4,990 workers in Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones. “Several permanent workers from Royapuram have already been shifted to Tondiarpet, leaving NULM staff uncertain about their employment,” he pointed out.
