Nagapattinam sanitation employees name off three-day strike, to get a increase in wages

The three-day strike by contract sanitation employees and drivers connected to the Nagapattinam Municipality ended on Sunday after talks involving the district administration, municipal officers, and union representatives resulted in a partial settlement on key calls for.

Under the settlement, employees will obtain a ₹50 improve of their every day wage, taking it to ₹400 a day, and a Deepavali advance of ₹7,000, which can be offered as an interest-free mortgage to be recovered in month-to-month instalments. Officials assured the assembly that pending Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS) contributions could be deposited inside 15 days with passbooks issued to all employees.

The strike, organised by the CITU-affiliated Sanitary Workers’ Union, started three days in the past demanding the implementation of the 2025 Government Order (G.O. 62) that revised the every day wage for sanitation employees to ₹600 and for drivers to ₹740. The protesters additionally sought regularisation of companies, month-to-month pay receipts, and eight.33% Deepavali bonus.

Nagapattinam Municipality engages 188 sanitation employees, 33 drivers, and 9 supervisors on a contract foundation. The strike had introduced rubbish assortment to a halt in a number of elements of the city, resulting in waste accumulation and public complaints.

Talks have been held between the employees, Municipal Chairman Marimuthu, Fisheries Development Corporation chairman Okay. Gowthaman, DMK councillors, and CITU commerce union representatives. The stalemate was resolved after the administration agreed to extend wages and clear pending statutory dues.

From the contractor’s facet, it was claimed the district administration imposes penalties as much as ₹10 lakh a month, lowering the contract pay out from ₹43 lakh to ₹33 lakh and constraining wage funds. However, district officers stated fines have been levied just for poor efficiency and inefficient waste administration.

CPI(M) city secretary Okay. Venkadesan stated the settlement marked solely a “minor victory.” “Workers have been exploited by contractors by way of wage cuts and denial of statutory advantages. Many haven’t acquired PF or ESI playing cards. We agreed to renew work maintaining in thoughts the festive season, however our wrestle will proceed till the G.O. wage charges are carried out and violations are rectified,” he stated.

Nagapattinam’s 230-odd contract sanitation employees type the spine of the city’s waste administration system, amassing and segregating rubbish throughout a number of wards. Many hail from Ambedkar Nagar, Nagore, Vanjur, Thethipuram, and Amirtha Nagar, working seven days per week with minimal go away. Workers earn between ₹350 and ₹400 a day, typically with out payslips, and allege that EPF and ESI deductions aren’t correctly deposited.

Despite authorities circulars mandating truthful wages and advantages, enforcement stays patchy. A senior municipal official stated the administration was “conscious of long-pending compliance gaps” and efforts have been beneath method to “streamline contractor obligations beneath the Minimum Wages Act and labour norms.”