AAP govt regularises jobs of 600 sanitation workers

In an event held by the Municipal Corporation on Wednesday, over 600 sanitation workers received their regularisation letters, but the joy of this achievement was incomplete keeping in mind the ongoing struggle faced by thousands of workers awaiting their letters.

Of the 607 workers regularised, 208 are from the Education Department and 399 from the Department of Environment Management Services (DEMS). Chief Minister Atishi and Mayor Shelly Oberoi presented the regularisation letters, an important milestone for the workers.

Chief Minister Atishi remarked, “When AAP took the reins of the MCD, Arvind Kejriwal directed the Mayor to prioritise the regularisation of sanitation workers. Today, under Kejriwal’s guidance, we have regularised the jobs more than 600 safai karamcharis.” She emphasised the hardships these workers faced in receiving their salaries, stating that under the current administration, they now received their payments in the first week of each month, a marked improvement from the months-long delays they previously endured.

“Our government has always stood by sanitation workers,” Atishi asserted, promising the implementation of all welfare schemes and timely salaries. “It is our responsibility to work for their welfare.”

Would have been regularised in 2021

These employees would have been regularised in 2021 had the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal not returned their file. — Raja Iqbal Singh, LoP, MCD

Mayor Oberoi conveyed a message from Arvind Kejriwal, who congratulated the sanitation workers, noting the significance of their regularisation coming just before Diwali. He stated, “Now sanitation workers will receive their salaries in the first week of every month, whereas earlier they had to struggle for it.”

However, Opposition leader Raja Iqbal Singh criticised the timing of the regularisation, claiming the proposal had originally been submitted to the Delhi government by the BJP-run municipal corporations back in 2021-22 but was rejected by Kejriwal at that time. “These employees would have been regularised in 2021 had the Chief Minister not returned their file,” Singh said. He expressed concern that Kejriwal’s absence from the event stemmed from a fear of facing criticism regarding these issues.

Additionally, Singh voiced his discontent over not being invited to the event initially and stated that even when invited at the last minute, he was not given the opportunity to speak as the opposition leader, prompting his party to file a complaint with the Additional Commissioner.

According to sources within the MCD, many sanitation workers had been informed of their regularisation two years ago but received their official letters now. Furthermore, thousands of sanitation workers are still waiting for their regularisation.