Union

dissatisfied with ₹20,520 salary and regularization proposal

Demands ₹40,000

monthly wage and relaxation in age limit

Chandigarh, 29 July (H.S.): Hours

after the Punjab Government announced a welfare package for safai sevaks and

sewermen, the sanitation workers’ union rejected the proposal and declared that

its statewide strike would continue. The union said the government’s

announcement fails to address its key demands.

Union leaders also opposed the government's

decision to increase the monthly salary of contractual sanitation workers to

₹20,520 from August 1. They argued that after statutory deductions, workers

would receive only around ₹16,000 per month, while the union is demanding a

minimum monthly salary of ₹40,000.

Safai Karamchari Union General Secretary Gai

Chand said the union had rejected the government’s offer and that the agitation

would continue until its major demands were met.

The union has also objected to the maximum age

limit of 45 years for the regularisation of contractual employees. State

advisor Kuldeep Singh said that nearly 15 percent of the around 30,000

sanitation workers in Punjab are above 45 years of age. Many of them were

recruited on a contractual basis only a few years ago, and therefore the

government should relax the age criterion.

On Tuesday night, the Punjab Government

announced a welfare package for safai sevaks and sewermen. The package includes

bringing outsourced sanitation workers with three years of continuous service

under direct contract, regularising contractual employees who have completed

five years of service as well as those recruited in 2021, and increasing the

monthly remuneration of contractual sanitation workers to ₹20,520 from August

1.

Local Government Minister Harjot Singh Bains

said the decision was taken under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant

Mann to safeguard the interests of sanitation workers. He added that municipal

corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats have been directed to

submit details of eligible employees, after which the regularisation process

will be completed.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH