A semi-naked protest by the GHMC employees against the Pay Revision Commission’s recommendations on Thursday ended with police taking the protesters into custody.
Under the banner of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Employees Union, several employees and workers held a shirtless demonstration in front of the GHMC head office near Tank Bund.
Speaking on the occasion, GHMEU president U. Gopal threatened of another ‘Sakala Janula Samme’ (mass strike) on the lines of the Telangana movement if the pay revision fitment is not hiked. Demanding 50% fitment, he urged the employees to come together for non-cooperation movement for the same.
In another development, a total of 17 employees’ and workers’ unions of the GHMC have come together to form a joint action committee (JAC) to protest various “employee unfriendly” policies of the corporation.
They held a public meeting on the GHMC head office premises and flayed the corporation’s attitude towards employees and workers.
The JAC, including organisations such as INTUC, AITUC, Telangana Greater Hyderabad Municipal Employees’ Union, and several others, condemned the decision to hand over the garbage transportation to Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (REEL), and said this will render the future of thousands of employees and workers uncertain.
Also criticised was the GHMC’s move handing over maintenance of more than 700 kilometres of road length in city to private contractors.
Work burden on the employees and workers has increased over the years owing to erosion of staff, yet promotions at the right time are being denied. Even salaries are not being paid on time, and deductions such as PF and pension are not being deposited correctly, the statement alleged.
Dearness allowance
PRC fitments are not being implemented, and dearness allowance is not being increased at the right time. Besides, appointments on compassionate grounds are being delayed enormously, the JAC complained.
Among the major demands by the JAC are the ones to scrap the agreement with REEL and replace GHMC vehicles with new ones, and announce pay revision for GHMC employees and workers immediately. Outsourcing workers should be regularised, and till such time, they should be paid equal wages for equal work, they said.
Other demands include reduced work burden, cashless health cards for staff, and allocation of double bedroom dwellings, reduction of promotion period to two years, filling up of all vacant posts with due promotions, salary for outsourcing employees by the first of every month, employment on compassionate grounds within one or two months, timely depositing of statutory deductions, and several others.
