The Development of Women and Children in Urban Areas (DWCUA) and Chief Minister’s Empowerment Yojana (CMEY) groups members sought alms from passerby to register their protest against inordinate delay in payment of salaries by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) here on Thursday.
The VMC has employed the DWCUA and CMEY group members in sanitation works. However, they were not paid salaries for the last couple of months. To highlight their plight, the sanction workers, under the aegis of Municipal Workers Union affiliated to Centre of Trade Indian Unions (CITU), launched a dharna and ‘bikshathana’ (seeking alms).
Communist Party of India-Marxist- CPI(M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao said that the corporation was playing with the lives of sanitation workers by not paying salaries for months together. He alleged that the VMC was also ‘swindling’ the PF and ESI amounts deducted from their salaries.
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The officials, who were supposed to implement the Laws properly, were going against the laid down procedures, he said. The CPI(M) leader said that the workers were finding it difficult to meet both ends meet. They were struggling to meet the transportation expenses (bus charges) also, he added.
The local Minister and Vijayawada MP assured them of the salaries by fifth of every month, but, they had failed to keep their word, he said, adding that the VMC should pay the pending salaries immediately.
The workers sought alms from the auto drivers, rickshaw pullers, traders and passersby. Municipal Corporation Workers Union city general secretary M. David, leaders K. Tirupathaiah, S. Pulla Rao, G. Lakshmi, S. Lakshmi, G.Veeraiah, M. Pulla Rao and others were present.
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