The Haryana government has directed striking sanitation workers to resume duty by September 5, warning that those who fail to comply could face legal and departmental action, as the nearly month-long agitation continues to disrupt waste collection across the state. The workers have been on strike since August 6 over several demands, including regularisation of contractual employees. The agitation has resulted in garbage piling up in several cities and has increasingly led to confrontations between workers, civic authorities and police during attempts to clear accumulated waste.
In a directive issued by the Urban Local Bodies Department, municipal corporation commissioners and district municipal commissioners have been asked to inform striking employees under their jurisdiction to return to work by Saturday. The government said the employees had remained absent without permission from the competent authority or prior notice.
Essential service affected
The department underlined that sanitation is an essential service and one of the primary statutory responsibilities of municipal bodies under the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973. It also referred to provisions of the Haryana Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1974.
The government alleged that some striking employees had prevented other workers from performing their duties and damaged sanitation equipment, machinery and other municipal resources. FIRs have also been registered against some protesters in connection with incidents during the agitation. Tensions have escalated in several districts as civic authorities, backed by police, attempted to clear garbage. Confrontations have been reported in Hisar, Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar, Rohtak, Sonepat and other areas.
In Hisar, police booked 20 sanitation workers, including 14 women, along with 25 to 30 unidentified employees following a clash during a garbage-lifting operation. Workers, meanwhile, have accused the authorities of using police action and intimidation to weaken their agitation. The government has also expressed concern that prolonged disruption of sanitation services could increase public health risks, particularly amid cases of flu and other viral infections.
Opposition backs workers
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini recently told the state Assembly that the government was continuously working to resolve issues concerning sanitation workers and had already accepted 12 of their demands. On the demand for regularisation of services, Saini said the matter involved several legal aspects and was being examined accordingly. The workers, however, have maintained that the government has failed to implement commitments made during earlier negotiations. The union leading the agitation has announced that the strike will continue till September 6 and has accused the government of attempting to suppress the protest instead of resolving its demands.
The issue has also triggered a political confrontation, with the Opposition targeting the BJP government over its handling of the strike. Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda has accused the Saini government of being indifferent to the workers' demands, while Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal has raised concerns over police action against protesters.
INLD MLA Aditya Devi Lal has also accused the government of subjecting sanitation workers to “injustice and oppression”. Congress legislators had raised the issue during the monsoon session of the Assembly on September 1, demanding that the government engage with the workers and resolve the prolonged dispute.