Disputes between panchayat presidents affect wage disbursal of cleanliness workers, says CPI

The disputes between the Presidents and Vice-Presidents were mostly on sharing the proceeds of corrupt practices.

Cleanliness workers stage a protest in Virudhunagar on Monday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Complaining that disputes between Presidents and Vice-presidents of village panchayats lead to denial of wages to cleanliness workers, Communist Party of India (CPI) cadres along with cleanliness workers staged a demonstration on Monday.

Leading the protest, party in-charge of Cleanliness Workers’s welfare V. Balamurugan said the disputes between the Presidents and Vice-Presidents were mostly on sharing the proceeds of corrupt practices.

“When they do not agree on certain terms, they do not sign the cheques for payment of wages to the workers. One such example is Kanniseripudur village panchayat under Virudhunagar union,” said Mr. Balamurugan. The workers were not paid wages for five long months.

Only after giving a petition to Virudhunagar Collector few days back, did the 10 cleanliness workers get their wages recently.

Similarly, he charged that no rural local bodies provide safety gears, like gloves, to the cleanliness workers to safeguard them from infections. Besides, they are paid as low as ₹100 a day. “The wages will not suffice for the workers to take care of their family,” he said.

The protesters also demanded that they be paid higher wages. The cleanliness workers from different panchayats demanded that their wages should be paid within five days of beginning of the month. They also handed over a petition to the Collector seeking his intervention.

Meanwhile, members of Students Federation of India sought additional time for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe students for making online application for scholarship from Union government. The petition was handed over to the Collector by the Virudhunagar unit president, M. Palpandian and secretary, S. Jotheeswar.

Mr. Jotheeswar said colleges have said February 28 was the last date for uploading the online applications. “However, the students are facing delay in getting computer-generated income and community certificates from the officials. Hence, the deadline for online submission of applications for the scholarship should be extended,” he said.