For the legion of contingent workers of the State’s civic bodies, who keeps running the resistance to the COVID-19 pandemic on the ground, even the regular commute to work is a struggle.
Forced to stay in the outskirts or neighbouring panchayats due to high rents in the cities they work in, they depend on their relatives or acquaintances to drop and pick them.
With some of the civic bodies insisting on them working on all days, considering the pandemic situation, their problems have only been compounded.
Added to this is the lack of compensatory leaves for working on holidays, in some municipalities and corporations.
“I stay near Nedumangad, from where a relative drops me to the city early in the morning. But, when lockdown is in place, it is hard for him to return, without being caught or fined by the police for violating restrictions,” says a contingent worker with the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
The working hours of contingent workers, involved in sanitation and other activities, is usually from 7 a.m to 1 p.m daily, with sometimes the work stretching a little over the stipulated time. But, for many, the lack of access to refreshments, as tea shops and restaurants are closed in many containment zones, is another problem when working long hours.
1,000 workers
The Kerala Municipal Corporation Workers' Federation (KMCWF), affiliated to the CITU, has been holding talks with the various civic body authorities across the State to negotiate better working conditions for the contingent workers, who number close to 1,000 in each of the three big corporations.
“In some municipalities and corporations, even the government decision that only 50% workers need to attend at a time was not applicable. After talks, some of these civic bodies have now decided to divide the contingent workers into two teams, with each team working for 15 days and then taking turns. Though there is a possibility of an increase in workload, this would reduce the risk of the entire workforce going into quarantine if one or two of them tests positive. Adequate number of leaves and stipulated compensatory leaves needs to be ensured for all workers for the hard work that they put in. Safety equipment and proper safety training should also be ensured considering the peculiar situation that they are working in now,” said V.R.Vijayakumar, general secretary of the KMCWF.
Increasing strength
The contingent workers’ organisations have also for long been demanding an increase in staff strength, as well as provision of quarters within the limits of the corporation or the municipality that they are working in.
