Sanitary workers staging a dharna in Tirunelveli on Monday.
| Photo Credit: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
Conservancy workers staged a demonstration and submitted a petition at the weekly grievance redressal meeting held at Tirunelveli district collectorate on Monday, urging the government to abandon its move towards privatisation in Tirunelveli corporation.They also requested the government to take necessary action to regularise them as permanent workers as several of them have been engaged in the service for more than 23 years.The workers were led by a VCK representative and the petition was formally submitted at the meeting chaired by Tirunelveli District Collector Anand Mohan.According to the petition, more than 1,500 sanitation workers are currently employed on a contract basis in Tirunelveli corporation through private agencies. It stated that such contractual recruitment has resulted in workers being denied basic employment benefits such as ESI, PF, insurance coverage, regular month wages and paid weekly leave.The workers further alleged that they are not provided with adequate safety equipment, despite being engaged in hazardous sanitation work. They also pointed out that proper welfare assistance and compensation have not been extended to the families of workers who have died in accidents, stressing that they continue to face job insecurity.The petition urged the authorities to fix a minimum daily wage of ₹750 for sanitation workers to ensure security benefits and to halt the privatisation process in civic sanitation services, calling instead for permanent absorption of all eligible workers. Published - June 22, 2026 08:21 pm IST
