Civic workers vent ire as BSMWL floats tender for waste management

BENGALURU: Pourakarmikas, including drivers, cleaners and loaders of  garbage vehicles,  in the city have vented their ire at the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) and warned the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) of staging a protest as they are upset over a tender notification issued by BSWMPL for solid waste management.

About 8,000 workers are employed under the BBMP on contract or outsourcing. After the BSWML became a separate entity to manage the city’s solid waste, a tender was called fro waste management. The pourakarmikas are now opposing the decision.

The government passed an order to the BBMP commissioner for implementing direct recruitment on December 22, 2022, but this has not yet been done.

The letter from the additional chief secretary to BBMP chief commissioner on hiring workers under DBT scheme.

The BSWMPL floated the tender on January 21, 2023.  The pourakarmikas fear that if a private company is awarded the tender, they will not get the benefits of the direct payment scheme. Hence, the contractors are demanding that the tender issued by BSWMPL be recalled.

Tyagaraj, state president of Praja Hakkugala Vedike, said, “All the civic workers are working under contract or are outsourced. Only women pourakarmikas were brought under the direct payment system during the recruitment in 2017. Since 2018, we have been protesting to seek fulfillment of  our demands”.

In December 2022, the Urban Development Department asked the BBMP Chief Commissioner to send a proposal on recruiting civic workers under the direct payment system, but the Palike has not sent it so far, he said.

Tyagaraj, state president of PVK claimed that, the BBMP Commissioner is doing injustice to contract-based pourakarmikas.

“Now, BSWML CEO Harish Kumar has called a tender for 60 months. To the best of our knowledge, there is provision to call for tender for 11 months. This is what led to some suspicion over the tender. Though the government is ready to fulfill our demand, the Palike does not want to bring pourakarmikas under the direct pay system. Our only demand is making drivers, cleaners and loaders permanent workers. But the BBMP commissioner and special commissioner Harish Kumar are doing injustice to us”.