Hyderabad: Sanitary workers and scavengers employed at police stations across Telangana staged a protest at the State Secretariat on Tuesday, alleging that their salaries have remained unpaid for the past 20 months.
The workers, who are responsible for sweeping and maintaining sanitation at police stations, said they are engaged as part-time workers and receive a monthly salary of Rs 5,200.
According to the protesters, repeated representations to senior officials have failed to result in the clearance of their dues. They alleged that they were repeatedly assured that payments would be credited the following month, but the salaries remained pending.
Around 4,500 sanitary workers are employed at police stations across Telangana, according to the protesters.
The workers said they had previously approached Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy seeking intervention. They also said they had visited Praja Bhavan but were informed that the pending payments required action from the State government.
Workers highlight financial difficulties
Several protesters said the prolonged delay in receiving their salaries had made it difficult to meet basic household expenses.
One woman worker recalled that their monthly remuneration had increased gradually over the years, from Rs 150 to Rs 500 and later Rs 3,000. She said the previous BRS government had raised it to Rs 5,200 per month.
Despite the increase, workers said the current amount itself was difficult to manage household expenses with and that the prolonged non-payment had added to their financial difficulties.
Nearly 150 workers arrived at the Secretariat on Tuesday seeking to meet Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. After learning that the Chief Minister was in New Delhi, they sought a meeting with Home Secretary Shikha Goel to submit a representation regarding their pending salaries.
The protest comes after retired government employees and contractors also recently raised concerns at the Secretariat over pending payments.
