DU's Ambedkar Ganguly hostel fires 19 of its sanitation workers, allegedly without prior notice

Nineteen sanitation workers of Delhi University's Ambedkar Ganguly hostel were allegedly fired without prior notice. The workers say that they got to know about them losing their job over a phone call on Monday.

"We have been going to work every day, despite the pandemic and the lockdown. This decision is an unexpected blow," says Nutan, a sanitation worker. "I am the only earning member of my family. We have no other ways to survive," she says. Of the 21 sanitation workers, 19 of them have been terminated until now.

Nutan, at the same time, alleges that the workers haven't been provided with any safety gear, amid the high number of COVID cases. "We were once given a mask," she says. The workers now plan to go on a strike, demanding the hostel to take them back. However, they do not know how to go ahead, considering the COVID restrictions. "We are completely helpless. We do not know what to do," she says.

A few days ago, the workers had issued a statement, when their salaries were ceased by the administration.  "COVID 19 and particularly these times have already tried to doom humans in multiple ways but we believe, this step of the brutal administration is even worse than that as we along with our families might survive the pandemic but no salary for us would bring all of us to the footpath," read the statement. It also said that the workers were told that the hostel has no money to pay their money. However, the students say that a lot of them were forced to vacate hostel and were allowed to come back only if they produced a "no corona certificate'.