EDMC passes proposal to regularise sanitation staff

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) on Wednesday passed a proposal to start the process of regularisation of all the contractual sanitation workers employed after March 31, 1998. The EDMC House meeting was adjourned for the day barely 20 minutes after it began due to chaos over the issue of sanitation employees’ strike.

The sanitation employees have been protesting against non-payment of their salaries and pending arrears since September 12. Their main demands include regular payment of salaries, clearance of dues, and regularisation of sanitation workers.

“This house resolves and directs the municipal commissioner to start the process of regularisation of all the contractual sanitation employees of EDMC who joined after March 31, 1998… and they be paid immediately after receiving funds from the Delhi government,” the resolution, moved by EDMC’s standing committee chairman Satpal Singh, read.

EDMC mayor Bipin Bihari said, “The AAP does not want the House to function, and that is why they started disruption. But even then we passed the proposal to regularise the contractual sanitation employees. This is one of their major demands.” Bihari also said the EDMC does not have funds so the payments would be made to the sanitation workers only after getting money from the Delhi government.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is in the opposition in the House, wanted a discussion on non-payment of salaries to the sanitation employees. They started sloganeering against the ruling BJP and did not let the House function. Leader of opposition Kuldeep Kumar alleged that BJP was playing politics on the sanitation workers’ strike issue.