Sanitation workers, students and teachers of the Delhi University have in a petition to the vice chancellor taken strong exception to the recent overnight termination of over 150 Safai Karamcharis from their jobs, pointing out that the "cruel irony of laying off" this happened on May 1.
Asking aware citizens to sign the online petition, the plea to the vice chancellor says, the termination followed the expiry of the tender of the contractor Sulabh International which had hired workers on a contractual basis. This includes 35 workers who had filed a case in the labour court for non-payment of fair wages, ESI and PF.
The petition says, the terminated workers had been employed in Delhi University for the last 3 to 15 years and have been systematically exploited and harassed by the contractor and the university under your watch. It claims, women workers have been harassed by bouncers of Sulabh International openly with complete impunity provided by the university.
Accusing the university for "constantly washing its hands off" the entire affair saying that it has no say in the hiring policies of the contractor, the petition insists that the university was the principal employer and is therefore responsible for ensuring the legal rights of the workers.
Especially criticising university authorities for stating that firing workers every two years has been the policy of the administration, the petition says, this is to ensure that workers do not organize amongst themselves against their oppressive conditions of work. It demands that all terminated workers should be reinstated immediately and be made permanent.
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