After a month-long protest, the multitasking staff (MTS) of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) resumed their duties on November 1 following a written assurance from the civic body to address their key demands.
The workers, who tackle mosquito breeding across the Capital, had started a protest on September 29 demanding equal pay, paid leaves, and compensatory jobs for the kin of deceased employees. After calling off the strike, they stressed that the decision was made through “mutual agreement and not administrative pressure”.
“After the third meeting of the committee formed by Mayor [Raja Iqbal Singh] to address our demands, which was held on October 31, we decided to call off our protest,” said Devanand Sharma, general secretary of the Anti-Malaria Ekta Karmachari Union. “Our demands were finally acknowledged in writing. A report was submitted to the Mayor that very day assuring us that a proposal for standardising our pay will be placed in the next Standing Committee meeting,” he added.
Although the union has temporarily withdrawn its demand for regularisation, Mr. Sharma said the decision was made after discussions with the committee. “We still want to be regularised, but we understand it cannot be done immediately. It’s not feasible in the short term,” he said.
