Gurugram Sanitation Workers Return as Haryana Strike Ends

GURUGRAM: Sanitation workers are returning to duty after their union ended a statewide strike that began on August 6, opening a ten-day clean-up window for Gurugram after more than five weeks of uneven sweeping and garbage collection.

The decision followed meetings in Chandigarh between union representatives, cabinet ministers and Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. State union president Naresh Shastri said workers would clear accumulated garbage across Haryana within ten days. In Gurugram, that undertaking begins with roadside piles, overloaded secondary collection points and neighbourhood routes that operated intermittently during the stoppage.

The settlement includes a mix of firm benefits and in-principle commitments. The government said sanitation workers would receive a monthly uniform allowance of Rs 440 and 20 days of medical leave each calendar year. Service rules are to be amended so eligible sanitation employees can compete for promotion to clerical Group C posts.

Pay, risk and insurance commitments

Municipal-roll workers have received in-principle approval for a monthly wage increase of Rs 2,100. Outsourced employees are to be paid at least the notified minimum wage and eligible workers are to receive Employees' State Insurance and provident-fund coverage. Municipal-roll staff will also receive leave-travel concession.

A Rs 2,000 monthly risk allowance already directed for sanitation staff on municipal rolls is to be extended to regular employees. The state has also proposed doubling the cover under its employee accident scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for death on duty. Separate bank-linked benefits described in the settlement include Rs 50 lakh for accidental death or permanent disability and Rs 25 lakh for partial disability, subject to eligibility and the final operating terms.

Municipal-roll sanitation workers are also proposed to be included in the state health-insurance framework, with the urban local body paying the annual premium. Recruitment criteria for vacant posts are to be finalised after the government settles the process, and a union representative will join the committee framing those criteria.

Ten-day clean-up will test the settlement

The strike period is expected to be adjusted through additional work, while withdrawal of cases will be considered under the applicable rules. The government has said regular employees will not face a break in service. Fire-service workers reached a parallel in-principle understanding on recruitment criteria and service issues.

For residents, the immediate question is simpler: when will their lane be cleared? Gurugram should publish a ward-wise recovery roster covering sweeping, door-to-door pickup, secondary points and transport to the Bandhwari landfill. Monsoon conditions had reduced landfill trips from the normal 70 to 80 a day to roughly 30 to 35 on wet days, creating a backlog that cannot be erased by a single photo-op drive.

The return to duty ends the work stoppage, not the sanitation crisis. MCG still plans to bring two long-term collection agencies and 857 vehicles into service later this year. Until that transition, workers, contractors and municipal vehicles must rebuild daily routes together. If the ten-day target is tracked openly, the settlement can deliver both cleaner streets and confidence that the written commitments will outlast the first week back at work.