Municipal Workers Protest In Proddatur, Warn Of Strike Over Pending Demands

Proddatur – Andhra Pradesh: Municipal sanitation workers staged a protest at the Proddatur Municipal Office on Thursday, alleging that officials have failed to act on long-pending issues despite clear instructions from the local MLA, a reporter observed.

• Allegations of official apathy

The protesting workers accused municipal authorities of showing complete indifference to their problems, stating that repeated representations have yielded no response or concrete action.

• Key demands placed before authorities

During the protest, the workers placed a charter of demands before the officials, which included:

Provision of essential tools to all municipal workers

Employment to a family member of deceased workers

Employment to a family member of workers who have completed 60 years of age

Payment of Rs 2 lakh as insurance compensation to the families of deceased workers

Supply of coconut oil, shoes, and uniforms for a period of two years

Enhancement of salaries for sanitation workers

Processing and forwarding of provident fund and pension files of deceased and retired workers

• Ultimatum issued by workers

The workers warned that if the authorities fail to resolve the issues, particularly those related to compassionate appointments and employment to family members of aged and ailing workers, they will launch a relay hunger strike from Monday.

• Threat of work boycott

They further cautioned that continued inaction would leave them with no option but to boycott their duties and go on an indefinite strike, holding the municipal administration responsible for any disruption in civic services.

Leaders Satyanarayana, K Salman, Chanti, Raghavendra, Gurramma, Ramadevi, Sethamma, Shanti, Narasamma, Mohan, Nagendra, Ravi, and several others took part in the protest.

(Source: IAIJ/BIN/DPJB)