MORE than 30,000 employees of over 87 municipal corporations, municipal committees and councils have been on strike since May 9, on their demands including regularisation of contract workers. The strike which was started as a three-day strike has continued till May 14 due to the anti- worker attitude of the government.

The main demands of the workers of whom a majority are women, are regularisation of nearly 20,000 contractual employees and equal pay for equal work, a hike in minimum pay of safai karamcharis from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month, implementation of medical facilities for contractual employees, increasing allowances of both permanent and contractual employees, risk allowance and better safety equipment for those engaged in cleaning sewers. These were all the election promises of the ruling BJP in their manifesto.

But even after three days of strike, the ministers of Khattar government were not ready to even meet the representatives of the striking workers forcing them to extend the strike for three more days.

CITU, in a statement issued on May 12, has congratulated the municipal workers of Haryana and the leadership of Sarva Karmchari Sangh for their successful near total strike. CITU demanded that the government of Haryana immediately settle the issue amicably through discussions with the union without causing further inconvenience to the public.