The protesting workers plan to sit on a hunger strike Tuesday onwards outside the 26-storey building to have their long-pending demands accepted.
After a ten-day long strike by the safai karmcharis of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation and a stinking capital city, a union of over 2500 domestic breeding checkers (DBC), sat on a protest outside the MCD headquarters situated on Minto Road on Monday demanding their jobs to be made 'permanent'.
The protesting workers plan to sit on a hunger strike Tuesday onwards outside the 26-storey building to have their long-pending demands accepted.
"Around 80% of the work force has been into the job well between 15-20 years. But all of us have been employed on contract basis. We do not have any medical cover or other service benefits such as pension and gratuity," said Madan Pal, 51, General Secretary of Anti-Malaria Ekta Karmchari Union.
The union workers had presented a memorandum of demands to the mayors and other senior officials of the three corporations --- South, North and East.
The union workers also met the opposition leaders of the corporations.
"We met the senior leaders of all the three civic bodies. They have asked us for a day's time to mull over the issue. We also met south corporation's leader of opposition Farhad Suri. He told us that he would ensure we have a meeting with the commissioner," said Pal.
This is not all. Just like the sanitation staff, the DBCs too have not been paid their salaries for the last two months now.
"Our lives have been spent in this work, but we have no security. Going on strike will be our last resort," said Pal.
Every morning Gopal Singh sets out to go from door to door checking 50-60 houses a day to see if there are any mosquitoes breeding in and around the surroundings or water being collected in deserted coolers or puddles. During the outbreak of vector-borne diseases, such as chikunguniya and dengue last year, the work doubles.
Singh has been in this profession for 15 years now, but still isn't a permanent employee of the municipal corporation and hence has no service benefits to avail.
Last year saw the worst outbreak of chikunguniya, which spread in the city in endemic proportions. The DBCs ended up inspecting around 100 houses a day.
The South Corporation has around 970 DBCs, of which only about a 10 per cent are permanent employees.
Meanwhile, a senior official said, "We will be holding a dialogue with the workers. However, according to a court order only those appointed before 2006 can be appointed as regular employees."
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