Around 500 cleanliness workers affiliated with the Uzhaipor Urimai Iyakkam staged a protest at the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Ambattur zonal office, demanding job security, timely salary payments and the reopening of completed resting pods.
The workers, who are employed in the Tondiarpet, Ambattur and Anna Nagar zones, also sought the third round of talks promised by the state government on their demand for job regularisation. The protest was organised after the proposed meeting failed to take place on October 3, according to the union.
Union members said ministers N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, CTR Nirmal Kumar and A Rajmohan met the workers on September 4 and assured them that a third round of discussions would be held with UUI president K Bharathi. The meeting was scheduled for October 3 but did not take place.
On October 6, the union submitted its demands to Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner GS Sameeran. According to UUI secretary K Suresh, the commissioner said that a fresh date for the meeting would be announced later. The union said no date had been fixed at the time of the protest.
The workers’ demand for regularisation is linked to their broader concern over continued employment security within the corporation’s sanitation system. The report did not specify the workers’ existing contractual arrangements or the number of workers covered by the request for regularisation.
The union also asked that monthly wages be credited by the fifth of every month. Workers said salary delays had made it difficult to meet routine household expenses, including rent payments. The demand places the timing of wage disbursal alongside job security as a central issue in the dispute.
The workers further sought access to resting pods that have already been completed. They urged the corporation to hand over the keys and open the facilities for use at the earliest. The report did not provide details on the number or locations of the completed pods.
The immediate next step sought by the workers is the announcement of a new date for the promised third round of talks. The union’s other demands—regularisation, payment of salaries by the fifth of each month and the opening of completed resting pods—remain pending, according to the report.
