A section of sanitation workers continued their strike today, even as EDMC officials claimed that all unions ended the agitation and helped dispose off 2,000 metric ton garbage piled up due to week-long disruption in civic services.
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) officials claimed that after a meeting with the Commissioner all the unions ended the strike.
"They will resume their duties from evening itself. It has been decided that their demands, which can be fulfilled immediately, are agreed upon, and those which need consideration will be considered over a fixed period of time," said a senior EDMC official.
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National general secretary of Rashtriya Safai Mazdoor Congress affiliated to INTUC, Veer Singh Dhiman, said, "We have decided to call off the strike after the meeting with the Commissioner and we will join duty tomorrow."
He said the EDMC officials agreed to fulfill their main demands related with payment of salaries and regularisation of daily-wage workers.
"They said that salaries will be paid timely and also promised to disburse the arrears in April. We were also apprised that process of regularisation of temporary workers will be started soon," Dhiman said.
However, the MCD Swachhata Karmchari Union, affiliated to Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), said it is still on strike.
"Today we continued to be on strike and sanitation workers led by us piled up garbage in front of the camp office of AAP's Trilokpuri MLA in protest against the Delhi government's failure to provide adequate funds to EDMC," said Sanjay Gehlot president of the Union.
He, however, acknowledged that a section of sanitation workers had decided to end the strike. He said his Union will weigh options after a meeting tomorrow.
"I have heard that a section of sanitation workers have called off the strike. I don't know what they are thinking. We will convene a meeting tomorrow and take a decision with regard to the strike," Ghelot added.
The sanitation workers of EDMC, numbering around 17,000, had gone on strike on January 5 demanding payment of their salaries and arrears.
A political blame-game was witnessed yesterday with AAP and BJP charging each another of creating the crisis.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted, "More funds, than were due this year, have been given to MCD. BJP siphoned it off or diverted it rather than paying salaries (sic)."
Hitting back, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari had accused Kejriwal of playing "dirty politics" over the issue.
Mayor of East Delhi, Satya Sharma, today condemned Chief Minister's tweet, asserting that she was ready for an "independent" inquiry into functioning of the civic body.
The EDMC officials said nearly 2,000 metric ton garbage accumulated due to the week-long strike was lifted from residential areas and roads in past two days with the help of private contractors and a section of sanitation workers who had called off their strike last night.
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