|
By Laxmi Murthy Despite a Karnataka High Court order, that contract municipal cleaners in Bangalore be given the minimum wage of Rs 1,800 per month, corrupt contractors and Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials continue to flout the laws
The garden city of Bangalore, famous for its well-tended parks, salubrious weather and pretty surroundings, has a sordid underbelly. The city is maintained by powrakarmikas (municipal cleaners) who labour under inhuman conditions. There are about 7,000 contract powrakarmikas in Bangalore, over 80% of them women, nearly all of them dalit. They work for a pittance of Rs 800-900 per month, with no job security or benefits. After a long struggle, their demand for minimum wages has been met, though they still await the actual payment of Rs 1,800 per month. The workers have been working for more than 10 years, since the city corporation, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), began sub-contracting the task of cleaning the city. The Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Guttige Powrakarmikara Sangha, a registered trade union of BMP contract municipal workers, has been waging a long battle (since 1996) to ensure that the powrakarmikas get their due rights. In August 2001, despite an order from the BMP commissioner requiring the payment of minimum wages, the contractors refused to comply. Demonstrations followed, and the struggle intensified when workers from 40 wards in the city refused to accept lower wages. A Support Group for Contract Powrakarmikas was formed in January 2002, when human rights groups, women's groups and other progressive movements came together to highlight the exploitation of the women workers. The report of an independent fact-finding mission, in February 2002, brought to the notice of citizens of India's 'Silicon Valley' the inhuman conditions in which workers laboured to keep their city clean. The powrakarmikas leave their homes before dawn and return late afternoon, having survived the day on one or two cups of tea. Even drinking water is a luxury since most residents of middle class homes do not offer water to persons they consider 'untouchable'. The powrakarmikas are not provided gloves, boots or face-masks, the report states. Handling decomposed garbage and all kinds of waste with their bare hands, most workers suffer rashes and cuts to their hands and feet. Severe backache and joint pain result from hours of strenuous work, bending and lifting heavy bins. Accidents are common. The report highlights the case of Marakka, from ward 54 A, who was run over by a truck while she was sweeping the road. She still cannot walk properly, but has received no compensation. Aiyamma from Mico Layout died after her sari caught fire while she was burning garbage. Although the contractor gave her family Rs 3,000, they had spent Rs 50,000 in the attempt to save her life. They are still trying to pay back the loans. The lack of proper implements for handling garbage, coupled with the condition of the waste, particularly during the rains, makes the work of the powrakarmikas intolerable. The women handle biological waste, wet slimy garbage and decomposed carcasses of animals with their bare hands. The only way they manage to tolerate the stench and filth is by deadening their senses with alcohol or tobacco. Besides its detrimental effect on the workers' health, substance abuse is also an economic drain on families teetering on the edge of poverty. The fact-finding report reveals that the BMP and contractors openly flout labour laws. Firstly, the work done by the powrakarmikas is perennial in nature. Under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970, the government is empowered to abolish the employment of contract labour in an establishment where the work being done by the contract worker is perennial, and necessary to the work carried out by the establishment. In fact, several laws are being violated: Article 14 of the Constitution, the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) (Karnataka) Rules 1974, specify equal wages for equal work in the same establishment. Yet, the contract powrakarmikas are paid only Rs 800-900, while permanent workers of the BMP are paid Rs 4,000. They also enjoy other service benefits. Also illegal are the discrepancies between the wages of male and female workers. The tender document for contracting out municipal cleaning work clearly stipulates that the workers should be paid "fair and reasonable wages, which shall not be less than the minimum wages fixed by the government". Despite numerous promises, the BMP, the principal employer, has failed to ensure that this condition is met. When even this basic provision remains unfulfilled, it comes as no surprise that other stipulations for the contractor to provide first aid, medical aid and compensation, protective gloves, etc, are not met. With no security of service, the powrakarmikas are hard put to demand their rights. There are no written contracts or proof of employment, nor are there any procedures for removal from service. Contractors dismiss workers at will and the lack of redressal mechanisms result in unregulated hire and fire, the report says. Following a protracted struggle, on August 29, 2002 the Karnataka government issued a gazette notification declaring an interim minimum wage of Rs 1,800 per month for contract powrakarmikas. Since that day, the workers have a clear legal claim on the minimum wage. Nearly a year has passed since the notification. The BMP first took time (until November) to notify a fresh tender, with the tender conditions specifically prescribing payment of the notified minimum wages of Rs 1,800, and to issue tenders to a new set of contractors. Then, the existing contractors appealed against the issue of the new tenders. Now, the Karnataka High Court has passed a clear judgement declaring the situation illegal and directing the BMP to bring into effect new tenders from May 19, 2003, ensuring payment of Rs 1,800 per month to all contract powrakarmikas. Also, the other amenities due to them under the Contract Labour Act. Meanwhile, over the past month-and-a-half, the harassment of workers has increased. In one area, around 30 out of 100 workers were declared surplus and summarily dismissed. When the union agitated, BMP officials expressed their inability to intervene and said that they would try to get the workers transferred to other wards. Workers in other wards were also apprehensive about dismissals and transfers. In some wards they reported that the contractors openly said they would not pay over Rs 1,500 per month, and that if the workers did not agree they would all be thrown out. This openly flouts the tender conditions, and is in contempt of a court order. The powrakarmikas are aware that even with the High Court having upheld their rights, the contractors and corrupt BMP officials will do their utmost to frustrate their struggle. It is in recognition of this that the High Court order also clearly specifies the appointment of ward committees to oversee the operations of the contractors and the BMP. These ward committees are to be made up of volunteers from the concerned wards. The powrakarmikas are still awaiting payment of the notified minimum wage. It is expected that they will be paid for the month of June (the payment is to be received by mid-July). Contact: Support Group for Contract Powrakarmikas
C/o Alternative Law Forum
122/4, Infantry Road
Bangalore 560 001 (Laxmi Murthy is a freelance journalist specialising in gender and development. She has been active in the women's movement for the past 18 years) (InfoChange News & Features, July 2003)
|
