Workers employed under the Slum Adoption Scheme of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), supported by the Members of the Watchdog Foundation, held a protest in Andheri to demand fair compensation and better work conditions.
The Slum Adoption Scheme was introduced by the BMC to enable proper waste collection in slum areas. Under the scheme, certain NGOs are given the contract to ‘adopt’ slums and ensure waste management in the areas, for which they employ workers on a contractual basis.
The protest, held outside the K ward office in Andheri on Thursday, objected to the fact that the workers are only paid ₹200 per day and no other benefits, members of the Watchdog Foundation said.
“These workers are responsible for the cleaning up of the sewage, sweeping the lanes and by-lanes and picking up garbage from homes. Can they afford to run their house on meager salary of ₹6000 per month?” Godfrey Pimenta, a member of the Foundation, said.
On the other hand, Ashok Khaire, deputy municipal commissioner of Solid Waste Management said, “We do not deal with the workers directly. We pay the NGOs that adopt the slums and it is their responsibility after that.”
The NGO members washed the workers’ feet and presented them gloves and certificates of appreciation.
Sahebrao, a worker present at the protest, said, “We clean the toilets and the sewage drains and our work is considered to be filthy and unhygienic. We are not compensated well for the work that we put in.”
