Employees’ strike affects door-to-door garbage collection in Shimla

Shimla: The indefinite strike by employees of the Shimla Environment, Heritage Conservation and Beautification (SEHB) Society entered its second consecutive day on Saturday, affecting door-to-door garbage collection services across the ccapital city.The workers, employed under the Shimla Municipal corporation, are demanding restoration of the 10% annual salary increment and continued their protest outside the deputy commissioner's office despite the imposition of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) by the district administration. Mayor Surinder Chauhan has appealed to the protesting employees to resume work, assuring them that their concerns would be taken up once the panchayat election model code of conduct was lifted. He said he would discuss the issue with the local bodies minister and the chief minister. Chauhan added that several welfare measures were already approved for employees, including an increase in Diwali bonus to Rs 2,000, enhanced leave benefits and life insurance cover ranging between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 30 lakh. To manage waste collection during the strike, the municipal corporation has deployed garbage collection vehicles in all 34 wards of the city. The mayor said residents were being asked to bring garbage directly to the vehicles. In areas inaccessible to vehicles, the corporation has identified several focal collection points where around 100 hired workers have been deployed. Meanwhile, SEHB Society employees staged a protest outside the deputy commissioner's office on Saturday. Union members said the corporation had announced only a 3% dearness allowance hike instead of the annual 10% salary increment, which would lead to significant financial losses for workers in the coming years.