Hyderabad's sanitation workers provide a vital service to the city, but receive very little in return. Their demand was simple, the same one they've had for ten years: fair wages and better working conditions.
Published Jan 23, 2025 | 6:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 23, 2025 | 6:00 AM
Safai Karamcharis protest for better pay and working conditions
In the harsh glare of the afternoon sun, a small crowd started to form outside the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) offices on Wednesday, 22 January.
One by one, sanitation workers in bright orange vests drifted toward patches of shade, chatting amongst themselves. Soon, the entire area blazed with colour as hundreds of safai karamcharis sat in protest. Remarkably, there was no traffic disruptions, no loud chants.
These essential workers, who daily shoulder the burden of keeping Hyderabad’s streets clean, displayed a remarkable civic mindfulness, even as they routinely bear the consequences of its absence among the city’s more privileged residents.
Their demand was simple, the same one they’ve had for ten years: fair wages and better working conditions.
Hyderabad’s sanitation workers provide a vital service to the city, but receive very little in return.
More Safai Karmacharis proceeded to join the protest
“We were out here on the streets when COVID-19 happened, cleaning up the streets when no one dared to step out. We had to leave our children at home and risk our lives to be able to clean up the city. Yet, we can’t take the required time off for our personal needs now,” stated Inamula Manjula, a 30-year-old worker.
“We have to clean up whatever’s on the road, whether its faeces or carcasses. It doesn’t matter if it smelly rotten food or thrown away wrappers, we have to clean it up powering through our urge to throw up or run,” she added.
Manjula, like her colleagues, begins cleaning the streets at 5.30 am, toiling in the heat until 2 pm. However, they receive no exemptions for government holidays and lose their salaries if they choose not to work for a day.
“They are extremely rigid with the leave policy and expect us to work even if we are marked absent by the facial recognition attendance system,” she explained. “Forget days off during festivals, why can’t they at least let us go earlier than usual?” she asked.
Manjula supports a family of five: her daily wage labourer husband and three children. However, her salary proves far from sufficient. “I have to pay for my travel and my food to be able to work. Apart from that, I have to support my children’s education and the house. With the prices skyrocketing and our wages stagnant, taking a loan is the only option left for us,” she shared.
The protest did not disrupt the traffic
The protesters demand that the Telangana Government approve a raise in their pay to ₹26,000 per month. Manjula has earned only ₹18,000 per month since she started four years ago.
Meanwhile, Malka Kavita has worked as a Safai Karamchari for over 16 years.
“KCR last raised our pay in 2014 when he assumed power in the newly-created Telangana. He increased our wages from about ₹10,000 a month to about ₹18,000,” said Malka Kavita, who has been working as a safai karamchari for over 16 years. “However, prices began climbing after that, and just a few years later, we tried to get another increment to ₹26,000.”
The demand for increased wages has remained a long-standing aspiration of the workers. However, they show no signs of backing down this time. “We will continue the protest until the government meets our demands. But, we will also continue to work in the day. We will work because we have to, because the city will stop if we don’t,” Kavita stated, reaffirming her resolve.
The safai karamcharis are supposed to received an annual kit with protective gloves and boots, neon vests to prevent accidents, and soaps and oils to maintain personal hygiene. However, this year, to the workers’ dismay, the government hasn’t provided the kit.
Police personnel deployed at the location to control the protest
“We’ve been using the same stuff they provided in 2023.” Kavita reported. “Forget they kit, they are inconsistent with replacing the tools we need for cleaning. We are working with brooms way past their working conditions, gathering the trash in sacks and emptying them into carts.”
Yet, despite the hazardous nature of their work, neither Manjula nor Kavita qualify for pension or insurance. They work as outsourced workers with the GHMC on a contract basis.
“Those benefits are only for those working in the offices with an education, not for people like us who clean up after them, toiling in the sun,” Kavita lamented.
Despite their years of service, their demand for regularisation, like their request for a pay rise, remains unfulfilled.
Though sceptical about its impact, they both actively participated in the ̌Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) led protest, fighting for change as they always have – peacefully.
The safai karamcharis were not alone in their protest. They were accompanied by members of the CITU and police. Together they formed a sea of red, orange and khaki brown amidst the bustle of traffic.
Communist flags in hand and cheeky tunes on their lips, the CITU members were integral to the protest, helping the safai karamcharis organise the demonstration and draft their list of demands.
The CITU supported the workers in their protest
“Neither the protest, nor the demand are new. These are the things they’ve been fighting for years on end,” said CITU South Hyderabad President M Meena. “KCR referred to them as their sisters and did nothing, we hope that at least Chief Minister Revanth, who we consider a brother will do something. We are protesting right now because the we want a the go ahead and subsequent budget allocation in the upcoming budget.”
She continued, “We are protesting now because we want a GO and subsequent budget allocation in the upcoming budget.
“Our demands are straightforward: a salary of ₹26,000, insurance coverage of ₹25 lakh, regular cleaning supplies, and ₹30,000 for a deceased Safai Karamchari’s last rites,” she stated. “We have sent a delegation to the Commissioner to present these demands.”
The delegation, comprising safai karamcharis and CITU members, later detailed what occurred inside the GHMC offices: “The Commissioner stated that they would write to the Chief Minister regarding a salary hike for both the workers and their supervisors. They also informed us that they’ll set up a committee to ascertain how they can increase our insurance coverage to ₹25 Lakh at a minimal cost to us.”
They continued, “They’ve assured us that they will also give families ₹30,000 to perform the last rites of a worker. Most importantly, they promised that they will replace our cleaning gear every 45 days instead of 3 months and issue us worker kits as well. The GHMC also agreed to get rid of the night shift altogether.”
The delegation also requested at least 16 days of leave for the safai karamcharis, as per the government’s list of closed holidays. A promise to to add another 1,500 personnel the workforce has also been made.
However, the delegation said that the promises would take time. With the Telangana state budget session approaching, it remains to be seen whether these assurances will materialise.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
