Delhi women sanitation workers raise concern over wages, safety, dignity

By A Representative

A recent public hearing in New Delhi brought into focus the structural exploitation faced by Dalit women sanitation workers employed across public and private institutions, with participants documenting widespread violations of labour rights, unsafe working conditions, and systemic exclusion from social security frameworks.

Organised by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) and its women’s wing, Mahila Kaamkaji Manch (MKM), the hearing titled “Labour Without Security, Lives Without Dignity: Confronting Structural Exploitation and Reclaiming Entitlements” marked the culmination of months of grassroots engagement with women workers across slum clusters in the capital. The initiative grew out of a sustained campaign of weekly dialogues, where informal conversations evolved into structured forums for workers to articulate their experiences and collectively identify patterns of injustice.

Hundreds of Dalit women, many from the Valmiki community, participated in the hearing, sharing testimonies about delayed wages, arbitrary dismissals, hazardous working environments, harassment, and the absence of formal recognition. The workers are employed in a wide range of roles, including sanitation work, housekeeping, domestic labour, and daily wage employment across schools, malls, hospitals, metro systems, and civic bodies such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Development Authority, and the Delhi Cantonment Board. Journalists, legal experts, academics, and civil society members were present to document and assess the testimonies.

An independent jury comprising legal and rights experts, including senior advocates Vrinda Grover and Colin Gonsalves, economist Reetika Khera, feminist educator Purnima Gupta, Dalit rights activist Manjula Pradeep, social activist Indu Prakash Singh, and legal academic Prof. Sophy K. J., presided over the proceedings, underscoring the legal and policy significance of the exercise.

Testimonies presented during the hearing revealed entrenched patterns of exploitation. A former sanitation worker with the New Delhi Municipal Council described years of employment under repeatedly renewed informal contracts without written documentation, alleging that she had paid substantial sums to secure and retain her job, only to be denied recognition of her service. Another worker recounted the death of her husband, a contractual sewer worker, due to prolonged exposure to hazardous conditions, followed by the death of her son who had taken up similar work. She said she had received no adequate compensation despite repeated appeals.

Workers employed in private institutions described precarious employment conditions, including low and delayed wages, lack of leave, and excessive workloads extending beyond their formal roles. Some reported being compelled to perform multiple tasks, including sanitation work, manual labour, and domestic chores for employers, while also facing caste-based discrimination and, in certain cases, physical abuse.

As testimonies accumulated, a broader structural pattern emerged, pointing to a labour regime shaped by outsourcing and contractualisation. Participants highlighted how the use of contractors allows both state agencies and private institutions to evade accountability, leaving workers without formal protections despite performing essential services. Short-term contracts, arbitrary renewals, and alleged demands for bribes to secure employment were cited as mechanisms that perpetuate insecurity and dependency.

The economic conditions described by workers reflected a persistent gap between labour and livelihood. Monthly earnings ranging from ₹8,000 to ₹16,000 were reported, often subject to delays or deductions. Workers described daily exposure to waste and toxic substances without adequate protective equipment, leading to chronic health problems. Access to healthcare, compensation, and social security benefits was reported to be minimal or absent.

Beyond workplace conditions, the testimonies highlighted the burden of sustaining households amid rising living costs and unstable incomes. Participants pointed to consequences such as school dropouts, untreated illnesses, and intergenerational cycles of economic vulnerability.

Speakers and jury members noted that these conditions are shaped by intersecting systems of caste, gender, and political marginalisation. Sanitation work continues to be disproportionately assigned to Dalit communities, reinforcing social stigma, while women workers face additional vulnerabilities, including unpaid domestic responsibilities and limited access to grievance mechanisms. Despite the existence of reserved constituencies, participants observed that Dalit women sanitation workers remain largely excluded from decision-making spaces, and low levels of unionisation further weaken their bargaining power.

The organisers said the hearing was intended not only to document violations but also to create a platform for accountability by bringing together workers, legal experts, and civil society actors. They described it as one of the first such efforts in the capital to centre the lived experiences of Dalit women sanitation workers within outsourced labour systems.

The jury proposed a series of measures, including the organisation of regular health camps in collaboration with public hospitals, capacity-building and leadership programmes for women workers, and systematic documentation of labour rights violations to support legal interventions. Recommendations also included strengthening networks of legal and media professionals, developing accessible materials to raise awareness about labour rights, expanding engagement with trade unions, and establishing digital systems to track wage payments and identify irregularities.

Additional suggestions focused on researching contractual labour systems, documenting practices such as artificial breaks in service used to deny benefits, and scrutinising the role of private contractors in wage theft and regulatory violations. The jury also emphasised the need to address sexual harassment through accessible grievance redressal mechanisms under existing legal frameworks.

Organisers said the public hearing is part of an ongoing effort to build collective leadership among marginalised women workers and to translate their testimonies into sustained advocacy and legal action. They stressed that while sanitation workers remain indispensable to the functioning of the city, their labour continues to be undervalued and their rights inadequately protected, a gap the initiative seeks to address through continued mobilisation and engagement.