Panchkula, December 26
Hundreds of rural sanitation workers held a dharna here today in protest against the state government for not confirming their jobs and instead bringing in a new recruitment policy.
Rural Safai Karamchari Union state general secretary Vinod Kumar said they had been doing the cleaning work for the past 16 years. He said in a memorandum submitted to the BJP-JJP government, they had demanded regularisation of their services besides hiring more workers for rural areas. He said instead of accepting their demands, the government came up with a new policy.
Vinod Kumar said while the government claimed itself to be a well-wisher of the poor and referred them as warriors, it was paying Rs 4,390 more salary to their urban counterparts. He said rural workers were being exploited as their salary was on a par with those working in the urban areas in 2013.
Rajesh, convener of the union, said their main demands included regularisation of workers who had completed 16 years of service, a uniform salary of Rs 24,000 for all, linking their pay with dearness allowance, monthly tool allowance of Rs 500 and Rs 8,000 for purchasing summer and winter uniforms.
