Sanitation Workers Demand Regularization and Insurance Ahead of Delhi Assembly Polls

New Delhi: Ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, sanitation workers are prioritising four key demands from the city government, with the regularisation of the temporary staff and a provision for an adequate insurance coverage being among the most pressing ones.

Naveen Vaid, the vice president of the Delhi Pradesh Safai Karamchari Union, said they have been organising protests to address a number of pressing issues concerning the welfare of sanitation workers.

One of the primary grievances highlighted by Vaid is the struggle of the workers, who are expected to manage their households on a salary of around Rs 17,000 to Rs 18,000 per month, which he described as insufficient to meet basic needs.

"We have made the regularisation of the temporary staff our foremost demand. There is a significant number of temporary workers in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) -- around 20,000.

"Despite their long-standing service, these workers face the uncertainty of non-permanent employment, making it difficult for them to plan for their future. The temporary workers who unfortunately pass away while on duty do not even receive any financial support for their last rites," Vaid said.

Additionally, he raised concerns about the lack of an adequate insurance coverage for these workers, particularly those performing duties in hazardous conditions.

"Many sanitation workers start their shifts around 6 am. Despite the physically-demanding and often dangerous nature of their jobs, they are not provided with adequate safety measures," Vaid said.

Those who come to power offer regularisation letters to only around 100 to 200 employees, he added.

Vaid stressed that it is critical for these workers to receive a health insurance coverage, especially given the high risks they face daily. He also called for the introduction of cashless medical cards to ensure that the workers receive immediate care in case of an accident or illness.

Tarun Kumar, a sanitation worker, also said a cashless medical facility should be provided to the temporary employees. The induction of those who get jobs on compensatory grounds should be done quickly, he added.

According to Kumar, the workers should be entitled to a life insurance coverage.

"We received several complaints that our workers were doing their duty in foggy conditions during the early hours and that they died following accidents. They do not even have safety measures for them during the duty hours," Kumar said.

The employees who have completed around 240 days of attendance should automatically be made permanent, he said, adding that there will be no additional financial burden here since their parents, who were regular employees in the department, died on duty and their children have waited for years to become regular employees.

"My father died in 2018 and I joined the department in 2019. It took until 2021 for me to be regularised. I got a regular job in two years, but there are many who, despite years of service, are still waiting for permanent employment. This prolonged period of temporary status severely affects their lives and well-being," Kumar said.

A total of 607 sanitisation workers were given job-regularisation certificates by the chief minister on October 16 last year.

In December, a parliamentary panel said the MCD sanitation workers who have completed 10 years of service must be regularised.

In its report tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes said many sanitation workers are being denied the benefit of regularisation due to breaks in their service, despite putting in 10 or more years of regular services in the MCD.

Voting for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 5 and the counting of votes will be taken up on February 8.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)