Grievances registration line soon for sanitation workers

The National Commission for Safai Karmacharis (NCSK) plans to introduce a missed call facility for sanitation workers to register grievances, according to vice-chairperson Hardeep Singh Gill. Gill has been focusing on ensuring prompt compensation for sewer worker deaths since assuming his role in February. The commission is also working on raising the minimum wages of safai karmacharis to match those of skilled or semi-skilled workers and regularizing contract-based workers.

The missed call facility is set to launch on the commission's foundation day, August 23. The NCSK is currently profiling around 90,000 sewer and septic tank workers, but the process is being delayed by state administrations. The commission is considering a separate mechanism to register these workers nationwide. A letter to the Labour Minister in May requested that safai karmacharis be paid the same as skilled or semi-skilled workers, prevented women cleaning staff from starting shifts too early, and ensured a secure insurance policy.

The missed call facility will serve as a pilot project to gauge the volume of grievances, leading to the establishment of a call centre at NCSK offices based on the collected data.