Vijayawada: Municipal workers on Tuesday evening called off their 13-day old strike , but not before turning the city into a dumpyard of sorts.The talks held between Andhra Pradesh Municipal Employees JAC and municipal administration principal secretary Karaikal Valevan for two days at NTR Administrative Building in the city succeeded on Tuesday with assurances given by the government.The state government agreed to implement the demands of the striking employees which include appointing a committee with municipal JAC leaders and officials of municipal administration authorities to conduct a feasibility study in 52 municipalities where GO 279 is in force.The committee will study the problems faced by the sanitary workers with the privatisation of sanitary works and submit a district-wise report every 15 days. The study should be completed in three months. The state government agreed to take necessary action based on the committee report.Sanitary workers demanded Rs 18,000 monthly salary for contract workers and the state government agreed to pay Rs 3,300 dearness allowance (DA) per month in addition to the present salary of Rs 13,000. Employees readily accepted the proposal.The municipal administration department said the implementation of equal wages for equal work is not in their hands as the issue is pending with the Supreme Court.Workers demanded the government to consider the 13 days strike period as paid leave. Municipal administration director Kanna Babu accepted the proposal and assured to pay them as arrears within two months.Leaders of the JAC celebrated the success and thanked the state government. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) secretary Uma Maheswara Rao congratulated the sanitary workers who fought against the government.Sanitary workers apologised to the public for the inconvenience and asked them to understand the consequences that led to the strike.Meanwhile, city police arrested the sanitary workers who tried to block the chief minister’s office at Lenin Centre.

Stay updated with all the Latest Vijayawada headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.