The workers allege that the corporation favoured candidates close to the ruling party over others who have been toiling for the corporation for more than 10 years.
Hundreds of conservancy workers gathered outside the Coimbatore Corporation office in Town Hall on Monday protesting against the recently concluded recruitment drive by the corporation. The workers allege that the corporation favoured certain candidates, especially people close to the ruling party, over others who have been toiling for the corporation for more than 10 years.
Tamil Nadu Annal Ambedkar Sugadhara Thupuravu Matrum Podhupaniyalar Sangam General Secretary Tamilnadu Selvan told TNM, “Over 2,000 of us have been working as daily wage labourers for 15 years now. When the government issued the direct employment notice, we applied for it and attended the interview. But when the announcement came, we could see that we have been neglected. This recruitment process is a sham.”
The workers alleged that candidates from South Zone were prioritised over other zone candidates, highlighting that the zone falls under Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani’s Thondamuthur constituency.
The Coimbatore Corporation had advertised for 549 vacancies with direct call for applications. On March 6, 321 persons received their appointment notice.
Speaking to TNM, Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner Sravan Kumar Jatavath said that the recruitment process was done according to the government order. “There have been no irregularities in the recruitment as they have alleged. We have complied with all that has been stipulated in the government order,” he stated.
The Commissioner shared that over 7,000 applications were received for the 549 vacancies. The Coimbatore Corporation employs 2,200 workers directly and has 2,800 outsourced workers who are temporary employees working under a contractor.
Gayathri, trans woman who has been working as a conservancy worker for the Coimbatore Corporation for the past 5 years, said that their main request is for their jobs to be made permanent. “Many of us including men, women, trans persons and elderly have been working here for over 15 years. They have to make our work permanent. That is all we are asking for,” she said.
“Unfortunately everyone cannot be recruited. We can only fill them based on categories and I can assure you we have strictly adhered to the categories. For instance, we have 4 seats set aside for Scheduled Caste women for which we received 2,202 applications. Similarly for orthopedically handicapped, we have 6 vacancies but received only 2 applications. We have not misallocated any of them,” the Commissioner emphasised.
Explaining that experience does not play a role under direct recruitment, the Commissioner added that the only eligibility criteria was for the candidate to know how to read and write Tamil. “Direct recruitment does not take experience into consideration. Irrespective of working status, the recruitment has been done based only on vacant posts. If they do well in the interview, they will be selected,” he pointed out.
Several others with over 15 years of experience have been requesting the government for a permanent posting, but their chances seem bleak. A Uma Maheshwari, who has been working for the corporation for about 11 years, shared that she makes Rs 318 per day. “We toil as much as permanent workers but we’re paid lesser. All we want is for our jobs to be regularised,” she said.
The Commissioner added that the request can only be taken up with higher officials in the state capital. “If they submit a written application, we will forward it to Chennai. This cannot be decided at the city level,” he said, adding, “In fact of the 321 people recruited, about 180-200 were those who were already working with us in some level. We have catered to more than 50% of those with experience.”
Source: The News Minute