Disgruntled NDMC employees threaten strike

Hundreds of North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) employees are set to go on a strike later this month over their pending wages. The employees include engineers, teachers, as well as ministerial and horticulture staff.

The earlier indefinite strike was called off in early November after they were promised a month’s salary before Diwali along with clearance of all dues. Their bonus and pension were also promised to be cleared by the end of November 2020.

However, the representatives of the Confederation of MCD Employees Union have brought to light the fact that only a month’s wage has been cleared, and that the wages for four months are still pending. The mayor and the commissioner have been informed in writing about the issue of non-payment and the threat of a strike upon non-clearance.

Salary for the months of August, September, October and November are yet to be paid. A meeting with Jai Prakash, the North Corporation mayor, had not given any positive results either.

The employees’ union has collectively decided to wait till December 4 for their pending wages to be released, after which they will go on a strike. The date and time of the strike along with the future course of work will be decided on December 2.

There are about 55,000 employees in the North Corporation and nearly Rs 360 crore goes into paying salaries and pensions every month.

The employees of the horticulture department, engineers, teachers, clerical staff and group D staff including labourers had gone on strike on November 9. However, it was called off after receiving assurances from the municipal authorities.

The mayor had appealed to the employees to understand the financial situation of the corporation and trust the system to pay them their dues. He had mentioned that the municipality was facing a financial crisis because of the pandemic.