80 Sanitary Workers Detained During Day 4 of Protest at Chennai's Tondiarpet Office

Sanitary workers led by the Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam (UUI) continued their demonstration for the fourth consecutive day at the Greater Chennai Corporation's Tondiarpet zonal office on Sunday, demanding job regularisation, wage revision, and other benefits. Police detained 80 protesting workers during the agitation.

According to police officials, the detained workers were transported to nearby wedding halls using MTC buses and were released around 8:15 pm. A senior police officer stated that no FIR had been registered as of Sunday night, adding that legal opinions will be sought before any decision regarding filing cases is made.

The protesters are calling for the regularisation of their jobs, an increase in daily wages to Rs 832, a weekly paid day off, and maternity leave benefits. The union has also demanded the immediate reinstatement of 13 workers who were excluded from a group of 1,400 workers the corporation had previously assured the Madras High Court it would re-engage, alongside the provision of basic workplace facilities.

Earlier on Sunday, Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G S Sameeran met with UUI representatives for discussions. Following the meeting, union representatives said the Commissioner assured them that the 13 excluded workers would be reinstated. However, the Commissioner noted that demands regarding regularisation, wage revisions, and maternity benefits require policy decisions and would be escalated to higher authorities.

The union also conducted a signature campaign backing their demands, gathering support from state secretaries of several political parties, including the CPM, CPI, and CPI(ML). UUI president K Bharathi said the union is seeking a meeting with the Municipal Administration Minister and the Chief Minister to submit the collected signatures.