Over 23,000 Sanitation Workers To Go On Indefinite Strike From November 4, Garbage Collection Likely To Be Hit In Bhopal

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh: Over 23,000 sanitation workers are set to go on an indefinite strike from November 4, potentially disrupting garbage collection and street sweeping services in time for Diwali. Nearly 13,000 Safai Mitras, employed by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), are leading the protest. The workers demand job security, regularisation, and a fixed monthly salary of Rs 25,000.

On Tuesday, approximately 5,000 BMC sanitation workers failed to report for duty. The strike comes despite the High Court's directions on employee regularisation. The workers' 8-point charter of demands includes regularising contractual sanitation workers, ending outsourcing, securing a minimum monthly salary of Rs 25,000, restoring the Old Pension Scheme or providing an equally secure pension, offering promotion opportunities based on qualifications and experience, providing safety equipment, regular health check-ups, and risk-related benefits, ensuring timely salary payments, and providing compassionate appointments for the families of deceased workers.