More than 50 conservancy workers engaged on contract by the Coimbatore Corporation staged a protest near the Corporation head office in Town Hall on Sunday.
Led by the leaders of the All India Trade Union Congress, Tamil Nadu Annal Ambedkar Sugadhara Thuppuravu Matrum Podhu Paniyalar Sangam and their leaders, the workers who held the national flag demanded that the Corporation should ensure that the contractor who had engaged them on its behalf paid their wages.
The workers said the contractor had not paid the last two months’ wages to around 4,000 workers.
The contractor had not paid the July wages that he was supposed to disburse before August 10. In the absence of wages, the workers found it difficult to settle their bills or pay for milk and other essential items.
And, at the hands of their creditors, they were forced to cut a sorry figure, the trade union leaders said.
They were given to understand that the Corporation planned to change the contractor for manpower management. If that be the case, the Corporation as the principal employer should ensure that the contractor paid all the workers’ wages and the employer’s contribution towards provident fund.
And, if the contractors had not settled the wage bill and paid provident fund, the Corporation should deduct the money from the contractor’s bills to pay the workers, they demanded.
As the protesting contract conservancy workers did not have the permission to stage protest, the Coimbatore City Police removed them from the place.
