Waste disposal workers hold protest in Navi Mumbai

NAVI MUMBAI: Workers hired on a contract basis by NMMC for disposing of solid waste from the city staged a token strike on Wednesday.
They were protesting against non-payment of salary as per the revised minimum wages act. The garbage collection process was disrupted across the city as 700 odd workers decided to strike after failing to receive revised salary for the past two months.Dumpers used for transporting garbage was stationed in front of the NMMC headquarters.
“Contract workers had received salary as per the revised minimum wages in December and January. Whereas in the following two months they received salary as per the old wage act. This created unrest among the workers as they considered that the revised payment was merely to appease the Swacch Bharat team,” said Union leader Mukesh Lad.
The strike was called off after noon but the matter is stated to be yet to resolved. An official from the solid waste department said the issue is to be addressed by the contractor.
“The solid waste disposal contract has been outsourced to an agency who has hired these workers. NMMC has credited remuneration as per the revised rate decided for per tonne garbage. Technically it is the concerned agencies who look out to pass on the escalation to its workers,” said the official.