In a relief to 2700 sanitation workers in Mumbai, the Supreme Court has issued an order dated April 7, stating that they will now be entitled to permanent jobs with the city’s municipal corporation.
They will reportedly also be provided with two years payment as arrears.
A report in Scroll states that the rule will equip workers with a leave benefit without having to undergo a pay cut. This means that the contract workers will be able to take weekly offs, medical leaves without suffering a salary cut.
A case was first filed by a union of sanitation workers called Kachra Vahtuk Shramik Sangh at industrial tribunal of Mumbai in 2007. Although the Mumbai tribunal had given an order in favour of workers in October 2014, the Municipal corporation of Mumbai had challenged the court’s ruling in the Bombay High court. However, the Bombay High court also gave a verdict in favour of the sanitation workers in a ruling in December 2016.
In a statement to Scroll, the general secretary of the Kachra Vahtuk Shramik Sangh said, “This is a double victory – not just for these 2,700 workers but for contract workers in general.”
Sanitation workers in Mumbai had protested against low wages and poor working conditions in Mumbai in January. The workers had also demanded permanent jobs and equal pay at a rally organised by former JNU students’ union President Kanhaiya Kumar and Dalit political activist Jignesh Mewani.