The contract municipal workers under the aegis of Andhra Pradesh Municipal Workers’ and Employees’ Union staged a novel protest by sporting flowers here on December 28 (Thursday) to press for their charter of demands. With the protesting workers abstaining from their duties, garbage piled up in the streets.
As their strike entered the third day on December 28 (Thursday), the municipal workers led by the union’s Prakasam district secretary P. Kalpana assembled in front of the municipal corporation office and raised slogans for the regularisation of their services. Among the protesters were the drivers of Clean AP (CLAP) vehicles who were not paid the monthly salary of ₹18,500 as promised by the State government. The municipal workers also demanded that benefits of government welfare schemes be provided to them.
Addressing the protestors, Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) district general secretary Ch. Srinivasa Rao said that the municipal workers hired on a contract basis were entitled to equal pay for equal work as per a Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The contract municipal workers had rendered yeoman service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, their service were not regularised as promised,” he said.
Meanwhile, the protesting Anganwadi workers swarmed the head post office and sent postcards to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy en masse. The government remained indifferent to their agitation which entered the 17th day on Thursday, they said. The members of the CITU-led Medical Representatives’ Union and Tenant Farmers’ Association expressed their solidarity with the protestors.
