Gurgaon: Haryana has directed sanitation workers on strike in municipal bodies across the state to return to duty by Sept 5, warning that failure to comply could invite legal and departmental action.In an order issued on Wednesday, the urban local bodies (ULB) department directed all municipal commissioners to ensure that employees participating in the strike are informed of the directive.The department said sanitation is an essential service and one of the primary responsibilities of ULB. It cited provisions of Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, and Haryana Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1974, to underline the need to maintain sanitation services.The order said striking employees were not only absent from work but were also preventing other workers from carrying out sanitation duties. It said that sanitation equipment and machinery had been damaged and that FIRs had been registered against some of the striking workers.The prolonged disruption has affected sanitation operations and could increase the risk of disease spreading in urban areas, the department said. It also referred to directions issued by Punjab and Haryana high court on Aug 18 in a civil writ petition, asking the state to take lawful steps to ensure sanitation arrangements in cities.A large number of sanitation workers have remained off duty since Aug 6, with around 2,650 workers currently on strike. The agitation has disrupted garbage collection and other civic services, resulting in an accumulation of uncollected waste in parts of the city.MCG workers’ union, however, said the govt’s warning would not deter them from continuing their protest.“We are not afraid of the govt’s action. The govt is already taking action against us. Our workers have been arrested and subjected to police action. Four of our colleagues have been suspended, while 14 others have faced action. If the govt wants to terminate us or suspend us, it can do so. But we will not back down out of fear because this is a question of our livelihood. We will continue our fight in a peaceful manner,” said Basant Kumar, president of the union’s Gurgaon branch.Kumar said the protest was over policy issues and service conditions, and was not directed against the public, traders, shopkeepers or individual officials.“We have been raising our demands through memorandums and letters for a long time. Only after repeatedly approaching the govt did we go on strike. The govt says that demands have been accepted, but we want to know where the notification is. Demands cannot be considered accepted merely on the basis of verbal assurances. The govt had given assurances on May 13, but those have still not been implemented,” he added.
