Chennai Sanitation Workers Say No To Automated Waste Management

By Author: new indian express
Total Articles: 12
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The GCC had recently rolled out plans to privatise conservancy operations in eight zones and in the meanwhile introduce battery-operated carts to collect waste, both of which have met with severe criticism by conservancy workers.

“We have conducted over five protests this year but we still have received no clear response as to what would become of the sanitary workers presently under the corporation,” said Srinivasan P, general secretary of the red flag union, a corporation recognised labour union. The corporation has around 7,600 permanent sanitary workers on its rolls, who now draw between Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000 a month inclusive of allowances while workers said, a private organisation pays Rs 7,000-8,000 inclusive of allowances.

The move has especially come as a blow to over 500 workers in the city who fell under the Non-Muster Rolls (NMR) after the GCC’s expansion in 2011, many of whom have been waiting for over a decade to become a permanent worker. “After 20 years of experience, I’m still on the NMR but I still hoped that I would be made permanent in the near future. I don’t think it will happen ...
... now,” said Lakshmi K, an NMR worker.

While a senior GCC official told Express that they would be absorbed into the remaining zones left under the corporation’s wing, conservancy workers are not convinced especially with the civic body’s proposal to introduce battery-operated cars, touted to be able to carry three times the load as a tricycle. According to another official, the battery operated carts, with the capacity to carry at least 200-300 kgs of waste and would be introduced in areas based on their density.

“While a tricycle can collect waste from 200 households, these carts can cover about 400 houses,” the official said, adding that the carts are mechanically loaded to compactor bins, requiring a conservancy worker to operate the vehicle and ensure that the waste is segregated before loading.
While some residents hailed the move, Srinivasan said that the move would add insult to injury, as far as conservancy workers were concerned. “A battery operated cart can do the work of at least 20 sanitary workers,” he said.

When the topic of expanding privatisation to other zones first came up, Rajan of the red flag union with three of his colleagues had travelled to Hyderabad to take a look at how the private waste collection was carried out in those parts. “What we heard from residents is that after a few months, private waste collectors had asked residents to pay Rs 4 for every kilogramme of waste collected,” said Rajan.

In Chennai, three zones — Kodambakkam, Teynampet and Adyar have already been privatised. CK Balasubramaniam, a member of the RK Nagar welfare association and a resident in the Adyar zone said: “We are constantly in touch with the top officials of the private waste management company. While they are very accessible, the actions taken to the complaints are not always satisfactory. Every other day, they claim that their compactor trucks have broken down.”