Image Courtesy:news18.com
The outbreak of Covid-19 in India has made people realise the importance of some less appreciated jobs like those of sanitation workers. Yet, there isn’t much being done to ensure their health and safety. Such news misses the mainstream news media and hence this news that sanitation workers in Jawaharlal Nehru university (JNU) are working without pay or protection has missed the public eye. They have not received any salary for the past 3 months. News18 reported on this and spoke to sanitation workers there, one of whom said, “I have two minor daughters and son to feed. At a time when the nation is going through a public health emergency with both food and jobs at a premium, I am being denied wages”. They say they are completely dependent on the relief food packages provided by the Delhi government since they are left with no money to buy supplies of their own, despite of working every day.
Reportedly, the University administration is putting the blame on the contractors and vice versa and in this blame game, the sanitation workers have been suffering. One of the workers said that the contractor keeps changing while they keep working at the University. She put the onus on the University and said that they should be treated like permanent employees there. As a matter of fact, that was the status quo until 2016, after which their employment was contractualised. Before that the university administration bore their salaries and also gave them employment status and benefits.
Anita, one of the sanitation workers told News18, “We are providing essential services. The Prime Minister is calling people to clap for doctors. What about us? do our lives have no value?”
They admit that they have somehow managed with the help of students’ groups who have given them protective kits but the administration’s apathy still prevails. These kits however get exhausted and are mostly meant for single use and even if reused get worn out easily, hence it is only the support of the University administration that can in some way help out these sanitation workers who are one of the key members of the frontline working community in the fight against Covid-19.
The plight of sanitation workers having to work without Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is a story coming from every nook and corner of the country. There is in fact a petition pending before the Delhi High Court for providing PPE kits to sanitation workers and to get them and their family members tested for Covid-19. Meanwhile, these sanitation workers are working in haphazard conditions without any protective gear leaving them vulnerable to and more susceptible to contracting the disease. In Delhi itself sanitation workers have tested positive for the disease and hence it has become amply clear that sanitation workers, who are currently being neglected by most governments at least in terms of provision of PPEs, need to be provided for.
Even doctors in many government run hospitals have to attend to Covid-19 patients without any or sufficient PPE. In that case, where would PPEs for sanitation workers come from?
In Mumbai, the worst affected city in India, in terms of Covid-19 spread, the sanitation workers of the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been provided with hazmat suits but are now being asked to reuse these suits by washing them at home. This is not just a risky affair because hazmat suits are meant for one time use but also because, these workers live in really small homes with no regular water supply and there is risk of their family members contracting the disease if they come in contact with these suits.
Mumbai Municipal Corporation is asking contract safai workers to ‘wash and re-use’ hazmat suits as the suit costs Rs.2,700. What is the price of the lives of our frontline workers? #ShameOnBMC #SafetyFirst #Covid_19india
watch: https://t.co/PHhdDeoVN2 pic.twitter.com/NdwK6CRdcI— NTUI (@theNTUI) April 27, 2020
In the Supreme Court, however, the Centre has made unverified claims that sanitation workers are being given protective gear. The reality remains far from this fantasy like narrative being put forth and also being readily accepted by the apex court.
These sanitation workers who are being hailed as COVID warriors need much more than a few claps and a glorifying tag to sustain and to keep themselves and their family safe from the fast spreading epidemic.
Related: