Thanks to the sustained struggle of sanitation workers led by AICCTU in Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), 653 sanitation workers working under the CDC company (to which sanitation services have been contracted out the Bhilai municipal corporation) achieved minimum wages. While they were paid Rs. 60-70 earlier in violation of the statutory minimum wage, they forced the contractor to pay wages according the minimum wage rate at Rs 118 per day. These workers are employed in 36 wards, and work from 6 am onwards all day. They come to Bhilai daily from villages as far as 18-36 kilometres away.
On pretext of the Election code of conduct, the CDC contract was extended from October 2009 to March 2010, but workers were laid off without prior notice – clearly to ‘punish’ them for having demanded minimum wages. Further, they were not paid wages for October-November 2009. AICCTU complained to the Assistant Labour Commissioner at Durg as well as the Municipal Commissoner and Mayor, to no avail. A relay hunger strike was then started, and 100s of sanitation workers gathered at gates of the municipality, raising slogans and distributing leaflets. They demanded reinstatement of 653 workers, payment of pending wages, payment according to statutory minimum wages, and 50 kgs of rice to the families of 653 laid-off workers (the workers’ dependents number some 3000).
After 9 days of the relay hunger strike, the CDC paid pending wages according to the minimum wage rates. They tried to employ workers to replace the laid off workers with outside workers as well as minors, but were foiled by workers’ protests. The demand for payment of pending wages according to minimum wage norms was fulfilled. The hunger strike was temporarily postponed on the assurance that not only will pending wages of two months be paid according to minimum wage, 653 workers too will be reinstated. Municipality also employs workers through another contractor - the SHG, Jyotsna Mahila Mandal, run by Geeta Vishvakarma. When workers demanded minimum wages, workers were laid off for 48 hours, two months’ wages were suspended, and outside workers were employed. When they protested, workers were beaten by goons. Leaders were implicated in false cases, and workers’ FIRs were not accepted by the police. Following a sustained struggle, however, pending wages have been paid to these workers too.
The struggle for reinstatement of the 653 workers continues. Recently, leaders of Central Trade Unions and other TUs in Bhilai – including AICCTU, CITU, AITUC, HMS, INTUC, BMS, Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha – submitted a memo to the Commissioner of Bhilai Municipal Corporation endorsing the demands of the workers, and demanding that the BMC, as principal employer, must uphold labour laws since, as principal employer, it is responsible to ensure minimum wage payments for workers and prevent harassment.
