After talks on recruitment and other major demands failed in Jaipur, sanitation workers have launched an indefinite strike. Sanitation services began to be affected from Tuesday evening, while a widespread impact on street cleaning and door-to-door waste collection is expected from Wednesday.
Jaipur: In Jaipur, the capital, sanitation workers declared an indefinite strike after a meeting of the United Valmiki and Sanitation Workers' Union at the Municipal Corporation headquarters on Tuesday failed to reach a consensus on key demands, including recruitment. Evening sanitation services were affected on the same day, while street cleaning and door-to-door waste collection in the city are likely to halt from Wednesday morning. However, a section of sanitation workers will continue working for now.
Sanitation workers from across the city participated in the union's general assembly, but talks with the delegation of officials could not reach a resolution. Union president Nandkishore Dandoria's fast unto death also continued for the fifth day. Given the situation, Urban Development and Self-Government Minister Jhabar Singh Kharra will hold a meeting with corporation officials on Wednesday to discuss the recruitment process and other pending demands. The strike is likely to have a significant impact on the city's cleanliness system.
Partial Agreement on Demands
The Municipal Corporation administration, showing a positive stance on several demands of the sanitation workers, has formed a special committee. This committee, comprising five officials including Deputy Commissioner Pushpendra Singh Rathore, held talks with union officials and decided to temporarily suspend the mobile app-based attendance system. Additionally, an agreement was reached to send a detailed letter to the state government on issues such as pending recruitment, appointments in court cases, seniority-based promotions, and voluntary retirement.
However, despite these assurances, the union has stated that they will not end the strike. They contend that mere verbal assurances are insufficient, and the indefinite strike will continue until clear action is taken on all demands. The union claims that they have been continuously apprising the administration of their demands for the past month, but a concrete solution has not been found.
Arguments from the Union and Administration
Nandkishore Dandoria, President of the United Valmiki and Sanitation Workers' Union, alleged that no attention has been paid to the problems of sanitation workers for a long time. Citing the administration's inaction on issues such as appointments for dependents of seriously ill or deceased employees, abolition of the contract system, increase in risk allowance, and promotional processes, he stated that the decision to boycott work was taken out of compulsion.
On the other hand, sanitation worker leader Pawan Chaudhary stated that a section of the union is unnecessarily creating a negative atmosphere. He claimed that agreement has already been reached on several demands, and the interests of the employees are not being harmed in any way. Meanwhile, Municipal Commissioner Gaurav Saini informed that many corporation-level issues have been resolved, and action on the remaining issues is ongoing at the departmental level. He expressed hope that continuous dialogue could lead to an early end to the strike.
