CHENNAI: The Chennai corporation seems to have different sets of rules for managing its conservancy and field staff. As per a response to a RTI petition, it was seen that the corporation’s zones follow different rulebooks in managing its conservancy staff and field officials. Five out of 15 zones – Perungudi, Madhavaram, Sholinganallur, Tiruvottiyur and Tondiarpet – and the regional deputy commissioners (RDC) office (central Chennai) responded to a petition filed by the corporation’s labour union, on the number of paid holidays to conservancy staff, time allocated for lunch and snack breaks, and work timings of field staff including area engineers, conservancy inspectors and health inspectors.
Responding to the question on paid holidays, the RDC office, Tiruvottiyur zone, Tondiarpet had said that three days (Jan. 26, Aug. 15, Oct. 2) would be paid holidays while the Madhavaram zone said that all the festivals would be paid holidays. Perungudi zone stated that the workers had to be on duty for the morning shifts during other holidays except May Day.
On lunch breaks and snack intervals for conservancy staff and field officials, the RDC office and Tiruvottiyur zone stated that the snack time would be from 9 am to 9.30 am and lunch time from 1 pm to 1.30 pm.The Tondiarpet zone stated that it was from 8.30 am to 9.30 am and 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm. The work timings of the zones too were different. “We filed this RTI to get an idea about the work timing, which is largely misinterpreted among the labourers.
But we were shocked to find that the corporation itself is not following any fixed rule book,” said Mr S. Purushothaman, president of All Department Labour Union of Chennai Corporation. A senior corporation official said, “The system cannot be centralized as the city is too vast to manage. But we will make sure that the system is approached more systematically.”
Conservancy staff hold protest against poor vehicle maintenance
Conservancy staff hold protest More than 250 of the corporation’s conservancy staff protested on Wednesday against the poor maintenance of the corporation’s garbage trucks and other vehicles used for conservancy purposes.
The staff gathered at the office of the Regional Deputy Commissioner (central) by afternoon and started raising slogans demanding that the vehicles be serviced and repaired.
The protesters alleged that more than 300 vehicles were in use without a fitness certificate (FC). “This has been the situation prevailing for over three years,” said S. Ganesan of Chennai corporation Anaithu Uzhiyar Sangam. “This is half the number of vehicles running under the corporation,” he said. “We took this issue to all the officials, but no action has been taken yet,” Ganesan added.
Tension prevailed in the area after masses of workers joined the protest, which they then gave up by evening after regional deputy commissioner Arun Sundar Thayalan pacified them. He said that he would look into their complaints.
