Safai karamcharis call off strike after talks with government in Haryana

When authorities attempted to lift the garbage, which the protesters opposed, Haryana Police had to use mild force to disperse a group of safai karamcharis in Hisar on Thursday.

Chandigarh: Safai karamcharis in Haryana, who had been on strike for the last 11 days in support of various demands, called off their stir on Saturday evening after holding talks with the government. A delegation of the Municipal Employees Union, Haryana met representatives of the state government led by Urban Local Bodies Minister Kamal Gupta here. A consensus was reached on the demands following which the strike was called off, a statement issued by the Union said. Talking to reporters, Gupta said the safai karamcharis will resume work on Sunday morning.

He said the minutes of the meeting will be shared after November 6 as the model code of conduct is in force in the state. Bypolls in Haryana will be held on November 3 and the results will be declared three days later. The strike had come days ahead of the Diwali festival and the Adampur bypoll and panchayat polls.

When asked why it took more than 10 days to resolve the issue, Gupta said, efforts were made to end the agitation but sometimes issues take time to resolve. "We held three meetings (with the protesters)," he said. The sanitation workers had been demanding regularisation of services of almost 15,000 of them who have been working for municipal bodies for the last several years. As a result of the strike, heaps of garbage had piled up in several places across the state.

Haryana Police had to use mild force to disperse a group of safai karamcharis in Hisar on Thursday when authorities tried to lift the garbage, which was opposed by the protesters. Opposition Congress had also extended support to the striking employees, with former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, saying all the demands of the employees were completely justified and the government should accept them without any delay.