VIJAYAWADA: Employees working on contract and outsourcing basis in the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation VMC ) are heading to go on a strike from October 4 demanding the government to revise their salaries and wages.The municipal workers’ joint action committee (JAC) threatened to stall emergency services including sanitation if the government refuses to dissolve GO 279.Municipal employees who are demanding equal wages for equal work for the last four years are opposing tooth and nail the outsourcing of sanitation works.The JAC called for an indefinite strike opposing the decision of the municipal administration department to implement GO 279. Asula Ranga Nayakulu, secretary of the municipal workers’ union, said, “Thousands of sanitary staff are working for years under contract basis and they are getting nominal salaries. While we are demanding the government to revise their wages. the government is instead trying to implement GO 279 which opens the gates for outsourcing works.”“Regularising contract and outsourcing employees is our long pending demand and the TDP which promised to regularise our services has now ignored the promise and many families are starving due to meagre pay. We are against outsourcing sanitation works as it adds a huge burden on the civic body but higher officials continue to ignore our requests,” he said.K Uma Maheswara Rao, state secretary of the municipal workers’ union, demanded the municipal administration department to identify the services of skilled and unskilled laborers working in the engineering wing and regularise their services based on their skills.“We have waited for years to fulfill our demands and there is no response from the government. This time, we will show our unity and will go all out to achieve our goal as our demands are genuine,” he said.M David, union secretary, requested the public to support their cause and understand their genuine problems.

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