Municipal Sanitation Workers Stage Protest in Kakinada, Demand Rs 36,000 Minimum Wage
Kakinada, June 20 (TNT): Municipal sanitation workers affiliated to the AITUC-backed Andhra Pradesh Municipal Workers Union staged a dharna in front of the Municipal Corporation office here on Saturday, demanding a minimum monthly wage of ₹36,000 and regularisation of services.
The protesters raised slogans demanding regularisation of APCOS sanitation workers and implementation of the principle of “equal pay for equal work.”
Addressing the gathering, AITUC district general secretary Thokala Prasad appealed to Deputy Chief Minister Konidela Pawan Kalyan, who was visiting Kakinada, to intervene and resolve the long-pending issues of sanitation workers.
He alleged that despite assurances made during the elections regarding regularisation of municipal sanitation workers, the promise had not been fulfilled after coming to power.
Prasad also criticised the government’s alleged push towards privatisation of public sector services and warned that workers would strongly oppose any move to privatise sanitation operations.
The union demanded implementation of the 12th Pay Revision Commission (PRC) recommendations, allotment of house sites to all municipal sanitation workers and construction of dedicated housing colonies for them.
The protesters also sought repairs to existing garbage transport vehicles and procurement of new vehicles to ensure uninterrupted sanitation and waste management services.
The agitation was led by union’s Kakinada committee general secretary Tupakula Lakshminarayana.
TNT TMR
