Denied wages, livelihood means, say safai karamcharis

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Around 60 safai karamcharis working in Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO),a Government of India undertaking, have alleged that they were refused work, sparking a protest by the Karnataka wing of All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) on Tuesday.

Safai karamchari are essentially sanitation workers. Eeramma, a karamchari for seven years and a member of the state wing of AICCTU, alleged while speaking to reporters that the contractors, who usually don’t change labourers, have suddenly told them not to come for work anymore.

“On March 23, we were told not to report for work, since a new contractor had taken over,” the workers claimed.

Their work involves cleaning toilets, sweeping roads, cutting grass and loading garbage onto trucks. The karamcharis also claimed that despite toiling from 7.30 am to 4.00 pm, the contractors take away atleast Rs. 3000 from their wages.

“Officials at DRDO did not respond to our concer ns.The ones who didn’t protest against the authorities were allowed to work, but we were terminated from service,” another worker, Mariamma claimed.

The protestors demanded that DRDO and the contracting agency return the money and reinstate them. Captain Hemant Pandey from DRDO was not available for comment.