Gurgaon: On the 35th day of their protest, sanitation workers on Wednesday extended their strike by another four days till Sept 13, with their union alleging that state govt has failed to issue written orders on demands it has claimed to have accepted.“Govt has not accepted any of our demands in writing. At different times, ministers have claimed that 12, 13 or 14 demands have been accepted, but there is no official letter or notification,” Haryana Municipal Employees Union state vice president and Gurgaon president Basant Kumar said. He said that ministers, including urban local bodies minister Vipul Goel and social justice and empowerment minister Krishan Bedi, had made differing public claims about the number of demands accepted by govt but that no formal notification or govt order had been issued.The union has also demanded compensation for the families of two employees who it says died after losing their jobs, and a permanent govt job for one dependent from each family. It has sought withdrawal of suspensions and terminations, cancellation of cases registered against employees and an end to what it termed police intimidation of protesters.The employees are also demanding implementation of the agreement reached with govt on May 13, abolition of the contract system for sanitation and sewer work, creation of sanctioned posts and permanent recruitment, besides regularisation of temporary employees in municipal and fire departments.Govt has, meanwhile, taken a tougher position as the strike has dragged on. It directed striking sanitation workers to return to duty by Sept 5, warning of action against those who failed to comply. The strike, which began on Aug 6, has caused mounting disruption to garbage collection and sanitation services across Haryana. In Gurgaon, workers earlier extended the strike till Sept 9 and warned that it could become indefinite if their demands remained unresolved. The latest escalation comes amid growing pressure on state govt.TOI had also reported earlier this month that garbage had accumulated across Gurgaon. The union had alleged that alternative arrangements for waste collection were being used to weaken the agitation and had called for an inquiry into expenditure and bills generated for sanitation work during the strike.Employee leaders on Wednesday alleged that govt was using police personnel to facilitate garbage collection and intimidating or detaining striking workers. They also alleged irregularities in bills and payments made for sanitation work during the strike and demanded an impartial inquiry. These allegations could not be independently verified.The union further accused govt of discriminating against sanitation and sewer workers and questioned why permanent recruitment was not being undertaken for these posts when recruitment to other categories was taking place. The employees said they would continue the strike if their demands were not resolved by Sept 13 and warned of a further extension.
