Trash piles up across Chennai areas as sanitation workers protest privatisation move

City corporation decided to outsource collection-transportation of waste to a private body, a project pegged at Rs 2,363 cr for 10 yrs, sparking anger among contractual sanitation employees.

At least 1,000 sanitation workers in Chennai under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission have refused to report to duty | By special arrangement

Chennai: The putrid smell of decaying garbage wafts through several areas of Chennai as at least 1,000 sanitation workers under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission have refused to report to duty, a move prompted by the Greater Chennai Corporation’s decision to privatise solid waste management.

Visuals of overflowing dumpsters and trash lying on the streets have been common in Ambattur, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar and Royapuram for nearly a week now, according to people who spoke to ThePrint. The city’s corporation recently decided to outsource the collection and transportation of waste to a private body, a project that is pegged at Rs 2,363 crores for 10 years.

This has sparked anger among contractual sanitation employees, who have previously also demanded being regularised as permanent staff under the corporation.

“When we went to work on August 1, we were denied jobs under NULM and were asked to work under a private contractor. This means, we will no longer be contract employees of the Greater Chennai Corporation under NULM. With this, our long-pending demand to make us permanent employees will also become redundant,” said R Thilakavathy, a sanitation worker from Ambattur.

The National Urban Livelihoods Mission is aimed at reducing the vulnerability of urban poor households by enabling them to access self-employment and skilled wage opportunities.

The protest of the sanitation workers at the Ripon Building, the headquarters of the Greater Chennai Corporation, intensified on 5 August as many of them occupied pavements on the streets outside the compound.

On 16 July, the Greater Chennai Corporation passed a resolution that it would privatise the waste management in Ambattur, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar and Royapuram zones. At a cost of Rs 2363 crores for 10 years, the project will also include door-to-door collection of segregated waste, and street and footpath cleaning.

Although the solid waste collection was handed to Delhi MSW Solutions Limited of the Ramky Group, they are yet to begin the work.

Several overflowing dumpsters and trash lying on the streets can be spotted across the city | By special arrangement

The protesting workers said there was no difference between the AIADMK and DMK governments when it came to handling their issues.

“Both of them don’t value our work. When it was the AIADMK government, then Opposition leader MK Stalin wrote to the Greater Chennai Corporation in January 2021 to make all of us permanent workers. But, now it’s been over four years since the DMK came to power and nothing has moved,” said Dhinakaran of the Workers Rights movement.

Sanitation workers under the NULM are contract labourers of the Greater Chennai Corporation, many of them working for about 15 years now. There have been demands to turn them into permanent employees of the corporation for the past six years. The workers said they have not been invited by the corporation for talks to resolve the issue.

When asked about it, Deputy Mayor of Greater Chennai Corporation M. Magesh Kumar said the decision to privatise waste management cannot be reversed as the tender has already been floated.

Neglected by people in power

“Whether it was a storm, or cyclone or Covid-19, we were always at the frontline. We left behind our families to save the people of our state. But when it came to our well-being, nobody listened to us and we were left out in all aspects of social development,” R Muneeshwari, who works in Royapuram, said.

Some workers also complained that they have been working without taking leave despite health hazards.

“I suffered from electric shock while clearing a pile of waste during the recent rains. I continue to work as I cannot afford to lose even one day’s salary,” said M Vanathi.

The sanitation workers are paid a minimum wage of Rs 687 per day.

“Even this minimum wage was implemented after years of struggle. Only for the past couple of years, the corporation was providing this minimum wage. Before that, we were getting only around Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000 per month irrespective of our years of experience. This minimum wage has not been revised for the current year,” Dhinakaran told ThePrint.

Overflowing garbage across Chennai

As the workers’ strike enters the sixth day, residents of Ambattur, Perambur and Royapuram have complained of overflowing waste.

“We have informed the councillors and the corporation officials about the situation. They are also clueless about it. Now that it is also raining, the situation is getting worse day after day,” M Kamatchi, who lives in Ambattur, said.

An official in the Greater Chennai Corporation who asked not to be named said they would deploy labourers from a different contractor to clear the waste soon.

“It’s not just about cleaning the waste. It’s also about spraying to eliminate mosquitos, cleaning the drains and checking the waste flow in the underground drainage. In some places, the underground drain blockage has caused overflowing water on the roads,” D Kamali, a resident of Perambur, said.

She said stalled construction work on underground drains was also adding to trouble.

“We don’t know when they began the work. Some of the work was stopped in the middle it appears, so they have just placed a barricade in the middle of the road, causing traffic snarls during peak hours,” Kamali added.

(Edited by Nisheeth Upadhyay)