Sanitation workers stage a blindfold protest at corporation office in Ongole on Monday.
| Photo Credit: KOMMURI SRINIVAS
The sanitation workers of Ongole and Nellore civic bodies who have been staging protests demanding wage hike have expressed dissatisfaction over the State government’s ‘stubborn attitude’ towards the protest.
The workers held a huge rally from Gandhi Statue Centre to the Collectorate as part of an indefinite strike demanding a wage hike and implementation of welfare schemes.
However, tension prevailed at the Collectorate after four women workers sustained injuries and two fell unconscious during their struggle to enter the Collectorate after the police blocked them. The workers requested the Collector to accept their petition and resolve their issues.
The members of A.P. Municipal Workers and Employees Union, affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), announced that they will intensify the strike if the government does not resolve their issues immediately.
Meanwhile, the sanitation workers staged a blindfold protest by tying a black cloth over their eyes at Ongole Municipal Corporation office. A.P. Municipal Workers Employees Federation CITU Prakasam District Committee has opposed the marginal hike in the wages of engineering workers.
A.P. Municipal Workers Employees Federation CITU Prakasam District Committee President K. Srinivasa Rao said that the State government was cheating the sanitation workers who are protecting the health of the people without considering their own health.
“The wages for the 17-day strike period should be given to the workers. Retirement benefits and other welfare schemes should be given. The retirement age should be increased to 62 years. The family members of the deceased should be offered employment,” he added.
Published – July 21, 2025 08:00 pm IST
