Durgapur: While the joy of Sharodutsav is knocking on the doors across the entire state, right on the eve of the festival, temporary sanitation workers staged a strong protest in front of the main gate of the Durgapur Municipal Corporation, demanding pending bonuses and a hike in wages. Hundreds of sanitation workers from various parts of the industrial zone spontaneously participated in this agitation and protest program organized by the Durgapur Municipal Corporation Temporary Sanitation Workers Union. Their specific and strong demands include the immediate payment of festival bonuses ahead of the upcoming Durga Puja, a significant increase in daily wages, and the immediate implementation of the 'equal pay for equal work' policy by ending long-standing deprivation.
While speaking during the protest, Union Secretary Subhash Saha expressed intense anger against the corporation authorities and accused them of extreme discrimination. In a very strong tone, he said that temporary sanitation workers employed in another important industrial zone and municipal corporation of the state, namely the Asansol Municipal Corporation, are currently receiving daily wages at the rate of Rs 400, whereas in Durgapur, their daily attendance wage is a mere Rs 202. He remarked that such clear and inhumane discriminatory rules cannot be allowed to continue in two municipal corporations located in the same state.
According to the union, having been subjected to continuous deprivation and harassment for a long time, they have already detailed their fair and legal demands in written complaints submitted to the Hon'ble Chief Minister of the state, the District Magistrate of Paschim Bardhaman, and the concerned labor department. The angry workers participating in the protest issued a stern warning that if their basic demands are not met within a specific timeframe, they will be forced to embark on a larger, more intense, and continuous strict agitation in the coming days.
At the end of the day, following the conclusion of this massive protest program, a delegation of the union went to the office of the Commissioner of the Durgapur Municipal Corporation and handed over a detailed memorandum containing their various demands. Now, the helpless sanitation workers are waiting to see what kind of positive steps the Durgapur Municipal Corporation authorities will take regarding this sensitive and vital issue.
