The sanitation workers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University haven't been paid their salaries for the past four months, according to an accusation by the JNU Students' Union. The body also says that the workers have access to no safety equipment and are struggling during the current lockdown.
"Even though a lot of us have managed to go to our homes, a large number of students are still living in the JNU hostels. They would obviously need the help of sanitation workers. Despite the lockdown, these workers make it a point to come to work everyday and ensure that the hostel rooms are clean," says JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh in a Facebook video. "However, the university has done nothing to ensure the safety of these workers. They have no access to any safety gear. Apart from that, they haven't been paid a single penny in the past four months. Survival has become quite difficult for them in this scenario," she says.
There have been multiple reports that spoke about the hardships that the blue-collar workers in the country during the lockdown. Two days ago, thousands had gathered in Delhi's Anand Vihar, hoping to board buses to their hometowns, defying the social distancing norms. "The situation isn't any different for the sanitation workers here too. We would request the Vice-Chancellor to urgently intervene and solve the issue," says Aishe.
The JNUSU General Secretary Satish Chandra Yadav says that the student body will soon meet the administration to discuss the issue. "The sanitation workers aren't permanent employees. They're employed by a contractor. But the JNU administration can surely take an action to ensure that they're at least paid their salaries," he says.
We have contacted the JNU administration for a comment on the same. The copy will be updated once they respond.
