Sanitation Workers End 14-Day Protest at Ripon Buildings After Talks With Ministers
Sanitation workers protesting outside the Ripon Buildings in Chennai withdrew their 14-day agitation on Friday after the government agreed to five of their demands following talks with a ministerial delegation.
The demonstration was led by the Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam (Workers’ Rights Movement) alongside National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) workers. The participating sanitation staff had assembled to demand an end to the contract labour system and secure permanent employment status with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
The resolution to end the protest followed negotiations between union representatives and ministers N. Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, and B. Rajkumar. After the discussions concluded, the government agreed to concede to five of the demands presented by the workers, leading the unions to formally call off the stir.
During the two-week demonstration, the unions highlighted several long-pending grievances regarding service conditions and compensation. They sought the prompt payment of monthly wages by the fifth of every month, the provision of paid weekly leave, and the distribution of adequate uniforms. Furthermore, they demanded the settlement of wage arrears pending since 2017 under G.O. No. 62, as well as the rollout of revised dearness allowance-linked wages from April 1 alongside the corresponding arrears.
Workers had also demanded the disbursement of earned-leave benefits within the specific month the leave was sanctioned, expanded social security benefits, the restoration of the old pension scheme, and the immediate settlement of retirement dues.
The agitation had intensified earlier in the week when protesting sanitation workers entered the Ripon Buildings premises during a flash protest, drawing sharp administrative attention to their grievances. On Thursday, solidarity grew when the Madras Corporation Red Flag Union joined the demonstration to back the Workers’ Rights Movement.
While the agreement settled five specific issues, the primary demand of the sanitation workers—the abolition of the contract system and the regularisation of their jobs under the civic body—remains unresolved. The two-week protest concluded having renewed public focus on the working conditions, wages, and job security of municipal sanitation personnel across the city.
