Sanitation supervisors call off strike after EDMC threatens to invoke ESMA

NEW DELHI: The sanitation supervisors of east Delhi Delhi on Tuesday evening called off their indefinite strike called against delayed salaries and lack of regular promotions after East Delhi municipal corporation released two months salary and promised to consider their promotions within a fortnight.

In five days the strike badly hit sanitation services in east Delhi with garbage not lifted from dhalaos or roads regularly leaving the commuters with an experience of obnoxious stink. Though east Delhi is known for poor sanitation services due to dense population, the end of the strike is a reason of hope that the services would slightly improve.

Mukesh Baidya, president of All Municipal Sanitation Supervisors' Union, said the strike was called off after a meeting where senior officials assured that promotions would be given to the deserving staff within a fortnight. In the civic bodies promotions are a rare thing, some of the sanitation staff who are nearing retirement have not been even a single promotion - though their salary scale increase with due course. It leaves the staff demotivated.

"Salaries of two months have been released to all sanitation inspectors and supervisors," said Baidya. Of the three months, now only one month salary is remaining. "We will resume work from Wednesday," he said. Around 300 supervisory level sanitation workers were on strike since Friday.

The EDMC was forced to pay attention to the strike of the supervisors even though sanitation workers, as the officials claimed, remained off the strike because recently Delhi high court rapped EDMC for poor sanitation services. Even after HC rap the situation has not significantly improved.

Even on main thoroughfares garbage can be found dumped by the roadside. No areas in east Delhi can boast of good sanitation services, even close to Vikas Marg garbage heaps were found during the strike. "We hope that the sanitation services would improve in east Delhi since the strike is over," said B S Vohra, president of east Delhi RWAs Joint Front said.

Mayor Neema Bhagat said that the sanitation supervisors were given the same promise on the second day of strike but they unnecessarily dragged the strike for five days. "After we decided to invoke Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against them they agreed for discussions," Bhagat said. Since the sanitation staff withdrew the strike EDMC also dropped its plan to invoke ESMA against them, she said.

Invocation of ESMA, legislated by the Parliament of India, can lead to termination of service of the protestors, even FIRs can be lodged against them.

with thanks : Times Of India : LINK