People's Democracy

ANDHRA PRADESH

Workers on Struggle Path across State

EVEN as the Delhi maneuverings to decide on the bifurcation issue reached a feverish pitch, the  working people of all three regions of Andhra Pradesh are unitedly on struggle path centering around their genuine demands. The 1.8 lakh strong Anganwadi workers and helpers in the state are conducting indefinite hunger strikes demanding hike in wages. At the same time in support of over 60,000 outsourced sanitation workers in municipalities, nine workers’ unions undertook a five-day long strike across the state demanding hike in wages.

CPI(M) state secretary B V Raghavulu and CPI(M) MLA J Ranga Reddy led a delegation of leaders of employees and workers and submitted a memorandum to the chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on 11th February seeking his urgent intervention in resolving the issues.

The issues raised by the delegation included solving the problems facing the Anganwadi workers and helpers; hiking the wages and regularising the over 5.5 lakh contract and outsourcing employees working in government departments, corporations, local bodies and universities etc; regularising over 50,000 time-scale/contingent employees and till that process is completed, payment of wages on par with regular employees;  provide job security to contract lecturers and consider regularising them.

The streets of the capital city Hyderabad and all other towns and cities in the state are littered with large amounts of garbage that has been piling up ever since the sanitation workers of the municipalities have gone on strike for the five days. With the government leaders totally engrossed in political manouvering, the administration has literally come to a standstill. The mayor of Hyderabad threatened the workers of invoking ESMA but the workers stood firm.

A huge Chalo Assembly was oganised jointly by the unions in which thousands of workers rallied. CPI(M) state secretary and floor leaders of Left parties addressed the workers.

Bowing to the steadfast struggle, the municipal administration minister called a meeting of unions and conceded to hike the wages of the contractorised sanitation workers. The government agreed to pay Rs 8500 a month to a sanitation worker in Greater Hyderabad, Rs 8300 in other municipal corporations and municipalities, and Rs  7300 in nagar panchayat areas. The workers had demanded a minimum salary of Rs 12,500.There is nearly 10,000 metric tonnes (MT) of garbage that has remained uncleared in Hyderabad due to the strike and it will take a few days to remove it.

Addressing the Anganwadi workers at the strike camp in Hyderabad, Raghavulu demanded that the genuine issues facing the working people of the state must be discussed in the state assembly. He demanded that the Anganwadi workers must be paid a minimum wage of Rs 10,000 along with retirement, ESI and PF benefits. He expressed full support of the CPI(M) to their struggle.

(INN)