Gurgaon: The strike by sanitation workers will continue till Sunday, the workers’ union leading the protest has announced.Haryana Municipal Employees Union alleged that despite their 28-day strike, govt had failed to make efforts to reach a settlement and is using intimidation to suppress the protest.Union leaders claimed govt is attempting to weaken the agitation through alternative arrangements for waste collection. Taking advantage of the situation, some contractors are generating fake, inflated bills for sanitation work during the strike, they alleged.The union demanded an impartial inquiry into all expenditure, bills and payments made for sanitation and waste collection during the agitation.The police force is also being used to threaten employees on strike, they added. “Govt is using police personnel to facilitate garbage collection to create an impression that sanitation services were normal, while women, elderly employees and other striking workers were being detained and harassed. Such measures won’t suppress the employees’ protest,” said Basant Kumar, the president of the union’s Gurgaon branch.In Gurgaon, municipal employees marched from the old MCG office and burnt copies of show-cause notices issued by govt to several fire department employees, who too are on strike. The protesters distributed pamphlets among traders and residents, urging them to support their demands.The union flayed urban local bodies (ULB) minister Vipul Goel, saying employees under his departments remained on strike while residents continued to face difficulties. It also criticised social justice and empowerment minister Krishan Bedi, alleging that his assurance to facilitate a meeting between the employees and the chief minister had not been fulfilled.They accused govt of discriminating against sanitation and sewerage workers, questioning why permanent recruitment was possible for other employees but not for them.
