Patna: Sanitation and daily-wage workers across Bihar have threatened to halt road cleaning and other sanitation work and stage statewide protests on July 30 if the state govt failed to intervene in their pending demands, which they said were beyond the jurisdiction of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC).The protest will begin with a torchlight procession from the PMC headquarters to Buddha Smriti Park on July 29, said Chandraprakash Singh, president of the PMC Joint Employees Coordination Committee and the Bihar Local Bodies Employees Sangharsh Morcha. He said there are about 8,000 such workers in Patna and around 45,000 across the state.The announcement came after Singh led a 15-member delegation of the committee in a meeting with PMC commissioner Yashpal Meena at the PMC headquarters on Tuesday. The delegation discussed issues related to the service conditions, welfare and development of sanitation workers.Singh said the state govt needed to intervene on issues such as the regularisation of daily-wage workers and the restoration of ACP/MACP (Assured Career Progression/Modified Assured Career Progression) benefits, which are currently on hold. He said the July 30 protest would be held across the state, with a major demonstration at Maurya Lok in Patna.The committee also sought a revision in the categorisation of sanitation workers. At present, PMC employees are classified as skilled and highly-skilled workers for salary purposes. The committee proposed that drivers of e-carts and door-to-door waste collection vehicles be placed in the semi-skilled category, citing their work responsibilities and qualifications.During the meeting, Meena directed the deputy municipal commissioner (establishment) to ensure that service records of daily-wage sanitation workers posted in all PMC circles and at the headquarters are updated regularly. The records will include personal details, educational qualifications, leave records and other relevant documents.The municipal commissioner also directed the officials concerned to take necessary action on the service-related issues raised by the delegation.
