The story is sad and is the same everywhere. Civic workers who clear garbage and sweep the streets are treated worse than the trash they deal with. Their lowly salaries and pitiable living conditions bother neither society nor the ruling class. It took the suicide of one such worker in Bengaluru last week for the civic administrators to take note of the fact that thousands of conservancy staff have not been paid for months and there might be more suicides if the situation persists. Not that they were not aware of the brewing crisis.
There have been countless protests by workers and the media has been highlighting the issue, but nothing moved the civic bosses till 40-year-old Subramani, unpaid for six months and struggling to make ends meet, decided enough was enough. While his death spurred the civic body into assuring workers that pending dues will be released and salaries will be paid on time, it’s likely Subramani will soon be forgotten and the likes of him will continue to be at the mercy of greedy contractors and officials.
Subramani’s is the story of around 45,000 civic workers across Karnataka—forced to endure poor working conditions while dealing with salary delays and job insecurity. They are the victims of the contractor-bureaucrat-politician nexus that feeds on poverty and helplessness. Since the workers do the crucial job of cleaning up the mess generated by their fellow, but more fortunate, humans, it’s time they receive the dignity they deserve.
Paying them appropriate wages on time, ensuring better working conditions and providing welfare benefits are the least that can be done. While the display of insensitivity by politicians after Subramani’s death—Mayor Sampath Raj turned the tragedy into a photo op and a senior minister attributed the suicide to an illness—is characteristic of their class, the government must wake up to the plight of civic workers and deal strictly with contractors and officials preying on them. The onus is on society and the government to ensure another Subramani doesn’t end his life.