Mumbai: Rs 200 Diwali bonus irks low-paid cleaning workers

Savita Shinde (extreme right) with her son, Sushil, (2nd from right), along with fellow cleanliness workers. The mother-son duo have been doing cleanliness work in the Sahar village slums for the past 15 years

Contractual cleanliness workers in the Sahar Village in K East ward, working under the civic body's Swachha Mumbai Prabodhan Abhiyan (SMPA), recently received a Diwali bonus of R200 per head. Irked by the paltry bonus, coupled with low monthly pay, and the workers' abysmal working conditions, a local NGO wrote to the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. However, considering the SMPA's design, the workers may not even have the legal recourse demanded by the NGO under prevailing labour laws.

The cleanliness workers are known as Dattak Vasti workers, a title derived from the erstwhile Dattak Vasta Yojana (Slum Adoption Scheme) of 2001. It was replaced by the SMPA in 2015. In a November 14 complaint submitted over email, the trustees of Watchdog Foundation raised the issue of low pay of R6,000. "Such meagre compensation is not only unjust but also fails to acknowledge the pivotal role these individuals play in maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene of our city," the complaint reads.

Contractual cleanliness workers at work in the K East ward

Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, one of the trustees of Watchdog Foundation, said, "The workers' monthly pay violates The Minimum Wages Act, 1948, amended in 2019. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) falls in the Zone 1 category, under which unskilled workers should be paid Rs 10,644 as per the Act." However, women and men working as cleanliness workers in the K East ward are paid Rs 5,500 and Rs 6,000 respectively. Watchdog Foundation's complaint raised the pay disparity and sought a probe against the contractor and ward officials.

Pimenta further claimed, "We understand that the contractors responsible for Dattak Vasti workers are affiliated with political parties. It is concerning that these political affiliations seemingly prioritise their own interests. We cannot ignore the stark reality that the workers are being exploited. Those employed directly by the BMC enjoy respectable wages and social welfare benefits but contract-based workers are paid less. Fair wages and proper working conditions are not luxuries but basic human rights every worker deserves."

‘No raise in 15 yrs'

Sushil Shinde, 30, works at Sahar Village through a contractor hired by the K East ward. "My mother, Savita, and I have been doing cleanliness work in the slums of Sahar village for 15 years. We never got an increment. The area is divided between two contractors, each having seven to eight workers. We were paid R200 as a Diwali bonus by our contractor, but the other contractor did not give his workers anything," said Sushil, whose wife recently gave birth to a boy. Savita said, "My grandson and daughter-in-law will return to Mumbai soon. I will ask our contractor for a regular supply of safety gear (gloves, shoes and face mask). I do not want my grandson to get infected because we clean others' filth."

Sushil, who dropped out of school after standard VIII due to financial constraints, added, "I had a second job at a departmental store but I was laid off recently. A payment of R6,000 for such hard labour is too low. Our requests for increments have fallen on deaf ears."

‘Wages Act doesn't apply'

An official attached to BMC's Solid Waste Management department said on condition of anonymity, "Dattak Vasti Yojana began in 2001 and ended with the introduction of SMPA in 2015. The SMPA provides for cleanliness drives across the slums of Mumbai. Those rendering their services are considered volunteers and paid Rs 5,400 monthly by the contractor concerned.

The contractors are appointed every six months through a lottery system." The official added, "SMPA volunteers are neither the BMC's employees nor the contractor's. They are not covered under The Minimum Wages Act. Since the service is voluntary, the contractor may or may not be obliged to give a Diwali bonus."

‘One worker for 150 huts'

Another senior BMC official experienced in labour matters, too, confirmed that service under the SMPA is voluntary and not covered by the Minimum Wages Act. The official pointed out that 60 per cent of the K East ward's area comprises slums. It covers the suburbs of Vile Parle East, Andheri East and Jogeshwari East, where contractors are appointed under the SMPA to undertake cleanliness drives. The Dattak Vasti workers, or volunteers as per the SMPA, work from one contractor to another.

"The distribution of work is based on units, with each unit having around 150 hutments or a population of 750. One unit is assigned one cleaning volunteer. The whole of the K East ward may have over 700 units, which means each shortlisted contractor may get multiple units to cover," the official added. Speaking on the provision of safety gear to workers, the official said, "The contractors provide the safety gear to the volunteers and bill the local ward office. If they do not show the supply of safety gear, they get penalised by the ward office."

‘This is fraud'

Responding to the statements of civic officials, Pimenta said, "This is a clear case of fraud where the intention is to benefit contractors who are local politicians' frontmen. The cleanliness workers have been stripped of all legal benefits that they would have otherwise gotten under labour laws. The workers are risking their lives daily to help the civic body keep the city clean and this is the reward they are getting."

Rs 5,400
Amount paid monthly by contractors to volunteers