In developing urban cities like New Delhi, caste and its stigmas appear symbolic through their markings. Sanitation work in India includes a range of jobs including sweeping, latrine and sewage cleaning, waste disposal, cleaning public toilets and drains, handling municipal waste and much more. Dalberg Associates in a 2017 study revealed that there are 5 million sanitation workers in India, working across nine broad categories. It is in the nature of work that it leads to results Deaths and illnesses due to exposure to septic waste, human waste and the lack of mechanization of work.
There is a new trend toward “contract work,” where workers are hired by private contractors. While the mode of appointment has changed over the years, the caste factor continues to dominate the scenario. The majority of people working in sanitation belong to the Dalit community, who face violations of their dignity and human rights on a daily basis.
All over the country Systems of proxy, ‘badli’ or ‘ewaj‘ are also common when Savarna takes over the government-appointed jobs of sanitation workers and lower caste communities do the work for half the wages without medical facilities. Furthermore, the contract labor system has further jeopardized the livelihoods of these sanitation workers and jeopardized the possibility of long-term employment. Yet despite these asymmetrical power structures, sanitation workers across the country have unionized to protest the unfair treatment that has become their everyday reality.
The recent workers’ strike at Jawaharlal Nehru University
While the city of Delhi lit up with the lamps of Diwali, the Sanitary workers of Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityNew Delhi struggled to enforce its minimum labor rights. The eight-day strike continued as trash piled up on the prestigious campus and a smell spread that reminded people of the alienation of work in a quasi-capitalist economy. The protest began when the JNU government refused to give the rightful Diwali bonus to more than 200 contract workers belonging to the flagship body All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU).
Source: The Mooknayak
The strike began when Dalit women working as garbage disposal workers started boycotting their work as the JNU administration-corporate nexus ignored the workers’ rightful bonus. The company’s representatives, Rakshak Securitas Pvt. Ltd in a derogatory act told the workers that Rs. 50-100 can be given to the workers. As the movement grew stronger, contract workers across campus banded together to demand the provision of paychecks.
“Legislative failure” on sanitation workers’ rights
Surya is a PhD student at the School of Labor Studies and since 2017 an active member of the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), the workers’ wing of the Communist Party of India – Marxist-Leninist “legislative failure” in implementing the rights of contract workers in India. At JNU, these employees have been working for more than 25 years in departments such as sanitation, horticulture, housekeeping and more.
He cited that the Payment of Bonus Act 1965 Serious violations of contractual employment relationships also occur in the institutional sector. According to the law, the employer must pay at least 8.33 percent of an employee’s salary in the financial year. This must be done within the first eight months of the accounting year. He mentioned how the workers are being poached with a meager sum of 34,000 from the company’s fund, which is a violation of the bonus payment law. The legitimate bonus is equivalent to a month’s salary, which is constantly denied.
In addition to these denied rights, staff at these educational institutions work in deplorable conditions. The Safai Karamcharis begin their day by cleaning toilet waste from the carcasses.
Surya mentioned that the administration rejected the bonus on the grounds that it was a “non-profit organization”. On October 22, AICCTU drove a bus full of workers to the Labor Commission office. The proposal stipulated that the company could provide the bonus, which could be reimbursed by the main employer. However, as workers’ dissatisfaction grew, a resistance movement developed. Gradually the number of workers grew from 20-25 to 200 people. He also mentioned that the Labor Commission representative had written in its report that there was neither any demand for bonuses nor any such strike in JNU.
As agitation grew, workers began to “militarize” against the administration. Marching through the various reputable centers and dormitories, workers began turning over trash boxes and distributing trash. The workers claimed that they were constantly being made invisible. Surya also shed light on the Extraordinary Expenses Fund reserved for emergencies. However, these expenses are not publicly visible either.
Unity between students and workers in educational institutions
The report found that diversity in educational institutions is crucial for solidarity between students and employees. Senior residents across campus have alleged that the introduction of common university entrance tests has diluted the inclusive makeup of the student demographic. Surya added, “The changes in education policies after the 1990s enabled the marginalized communities of the society to reach institutes like JNU for higher studies.”
Source: iStock
Empathy is critically lacking among students pursuing higher education, leading to a gap between theory and practice. Vice-Chancellor Dhulipudi Pandit said during her strike visit that the bonus cannot be given as the fees for students cannot be increased. Such comments from those in power show that they are trying to create a dichotomy between the welfare of students and that of workers. However, resistance to the power structure is always possible.
A mess manager named Abhishek (a category often considered separate from workers) of Lohit Hostel, who was active during the strike, was arbitrarily dismissed by the management-company fraternity after the strike. The student-led hostel committee strongly opposed the decision by appealing to the director. Such examples of solidarity between students and workers are bright spots in dark times.
Solidarity and unionization among sanitation workers
Surya believes that “unions only come together in times of crisis”. Samsung workers, the BBMP contract workers of Karnataka, Maruti. They know that unionization does not guarantee rights, but the struggle is waged with class consciousness or political consciousness. Union leaders play a crucial role in developing such awareness.” Instead of a top-down approach, AICCTU is known for more democratic decision-making, with workers aware of the consequences of strikes and protests. Unionization ensures workers’ representation in legislation for their livelihood.
Source: The Nation
Only when the workers began to speak out against the waste did the administration respond to the workers’ demands. In a meeting between various authorities, the president of the students’ association and representatives of the union, the administration said that a meager amount could be paid as a bonus, but only to the waste management employees. Out of solidarity, the waste management rejected the offer. The fight continued with the demand for a change in the tender clause, which provided for the provision of a bonus. However, no consideration was provided. As exclusion continues through various means, workers stand united in resistance to every injustice and are determined to claim their rightful bonus next year.
The strike is a reminder of the coexistence of oppression in the very spaces that criticize its mechanisms. The violation of workers’ rights in institutional premises and elsewhere is an indicator of significant gaps in the implementation of policies such as the Payment of Bonus Act. This struggle by workers for their rightful share of the Diwali bonus has greater implications for dignity, equality and recognition of their work.
The strike highlights the need for greater union organizing and class consciousness to ensure justice and fair treatment for these ostracized workers. Such resistance movements reawaken a sense of trust in the democratic spirit of institutional spaces, which can lead to greater change in times of repressive regimes.