Municipal employees who have not been paid wages for more than two months intensified their stir on Saturday.
Safai karamcharis of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation have been on strike since Tuesday. Apart from refusing to lift garbage, they carried out a mock funeral procession of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and protested against the BJP leadership of the corporation.
On Friday, they gathered outside the EDMC headquarters in Patparganj and dumped garbage there as a mark of protest.
“We will continue to protest till we are given salaries. How are we supposed to run our houses and pay for our children’s education,” asked Rajendra Mewati, president of the Delhi Pradesh Safai Mazdoor Union.
The workers claim that they have not been paid for the months of April and May, but EDMC Mayor Harsh Deep Malhotra said that over 70 per cent of the safai karamcharis had been paid for April.
“We are running a month late on salaries, but as and when we get any income we are releasing salaries. The Delhi Government has not given us our dues,” said Mr. Malhotra. Meanwhile, employees of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation held a dharna at the headquarters at the Civic Centre here. According to officials, salaries have not been paid for two months, with some senior employees not being paid for three months.
The EDMC spends about Rs. 1,000 crore on salaries and pensions annually, while its yearly income in the last financial year was Rs.1,292.80 crore.
