Conservancy workers not to hold strike

There will be no piles of garbage in the city this Diwali as the conservancy workers have withdrawn their strike, which was to begin from Thursday. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to implement amended minimum wages recommendations for about 6,500 conservancy workers working in the solid waste management (SWM) department.

After the discussion held at the civic body headquarters between mayor Snehal Ambekar and the Kachara Vahtook Shramik Sangh (KVSS), union of conservancy workers, the civic administration decided to implement the amended minimum wage directives for them. Accordingly, the conservancy workers will get monthly Rs 14,000 plus 46 per cent levy. They will also be provided minimum wages arrears of Rs 1 lakh each since February 2015.

The KVSS had threatened to go on strike during Diwali in cities like Mumbai, Thane and Nashik due to non-compliance of demands of conservancy workers. However, after their demands were agreed by the civic body, the union decided to call off the strike.

Milind Ranade, the general secretary of KVSS, said, “The demand for minimum wages has been long-pending. On August 18, in the meeting held with the municipal officials of Mumbai, Thane and Nashik, labour minister Sambhaji Nilangekar had assured he would fulfil our demands of minimum wage and arrears of 20 months before Diwali. But the municipal officials later turned a blind eye towards them.”