Municipal sanitation workers on Monday declared an indefinite strike in Visakhapatnam due to which the city has taken a huge hit towards garbage maintenance. Nearly 6,000 workers, both contract and outsourcing, of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) continued the strike for the second day on Tuesday, due to which every corner of the city was seen littered with garbage.
The workers are demanding the restoration of their ₹21,000 salary which has now been reduced to ₹18,000 by the state government. They were earlier getting ₹15,000 plus ₹6,000 medical allowances which totalled ₹21,000. The state government suddenly announced a consolidated pay of ₹18,000 which has become the reason for this indefinite strike by sanitation workers in Visakhapatnam. They are demanding to restore the old pay scale and also to make them permanent employees as promised by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during his padayatra before getting elected.
The strike has led to the clogging of garbage in the city especially due to the Giri Pradhakshina which took off yesterday 12 July 2022. The GVMC has been trying to clear the garbage through temporary means which are being stalled by the workers on strike. The on and off rains in the city have been adding to the mess which could only lead to the spread of deadly diseases.
“The apartment has one big dustbin stationed at the entrance. It has been overflowing as the garbage hasn’t been picked up in the last two days,” said Rajkumar a resident of Daspalla Hills. The situation seems to be the same across the city, as many residents who are aware of the strike request the government to provide the sanitation workers with their old wages.
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