Contract workers on Thursday staged a dharna at the GVMC office under the leadership of CITU-affiliated Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation Employees’ Union.
They were demanding, among other things, wages of Rs.12,500 to contract and outsourced workers, health cards, crediting Rs.3.5 crore of PF and ESI arrears to their accounts, treatment at ESI hospital, payment of wages by the 10 of every month, holiday on Sunday to all sanitation workers and release of money for stitching charges, soaps and oil for three years, according to union president G. Subba Rao and general secretary P. Venkata Reddy.
Hundreds of workers under sanitation, street-lighting, water supply participated at the dharna in front of the gate. A posse of policemen was present.
A union statement said Additional Commissioner (General) K. Ramesh came to the protest venue and assured them action would be taken on their demands.
It said workers relented only after a written assurance was given. Thursday’s protest was preceded by relay fasts for three days.
In a memorandum, the union said the problems of contract and outsourced workers were also taken up at a protest in a “Chalo Hyderabad” programme on June 12. But it elicited no response.
