The strike of municipal sanitation workers in Faridkot entered its seventh day on Saturday, leaving the town's cleanliness in complete disarray with garbage mounds piling up across markets, residential colonies, main roads, lanes and public places, posing a serious health hazard to residents.
Contractual workers demand pending salaries
Around 450 contractual safai sewaks employed with the Faridkot Municipal Committee have been on strike since June 20, demanding release of their salaries pending for nearly two months. The stench from uncollected garbage has made life miserable for residents, while shopkeepers complained that the filth was keeping customers away and ruining the market atmosphere.
Stray cattle, foraging through roadside garbage heaps, have been straying onto roads, obstructing traffic and raising the risk of accidents.
Recurring labor unrest
This is not the first time the workers have downed tools this year. Last month, they had struck work for nearly three weeks demanding regularisation of their services, bringing the town to a similar sorry state. That strike was called off after the state government gave assurances, but with salaries still unpaid, the workers returned to the picket line.
Union warns of escalation
Sant Ram, president of the Safai Sewak Union in Faridkot, said the workers had no option but to strike. "We have placed our demands before the concerned officials repeatedly, but no concrete solution has come forward. The agitation will continue until our outstanding salaries are released," they said. The workers have warned that if salaries are not paid by Monday evening, they will lock all offices of the Municipal Committee on Tuesday, preventing any staff from entering.
Municipal committee faces financial crunch
Executive Officer Amrit Lal admitted he was making efforts to arrange funds but expressed helplessness over the situation. Sources in the committee revealed that salaries to these contractual workers are paid from the state government's VAT devolution funds, and since those funds have not been received, there is nothing left to disburse. The committee, sources added, is in such dire financial straits that even combining all its own revenues with state grants falls short of meeting the salary bill of both its regular and contractual staff.
Political interference alleged
Sources further alleged that a large number of contractual safai sewaks were recruited under pressure from political leaders without any thought being given to how their salaries would be sustained. "Many of these 450 contractual employees were taken on for political mileage. Nobody applied their mind to where the money to pay them would come from," said a senior functionary in the committee.
