NULM conservancy workers temporarily call off protests

Ministers C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar, N. Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, and Rajmohan addressing the conservancy workers protesting in Chennai on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) sanitation workers’ protest has been temporarily called off following talks with the State government. The next round of negotiations have been scheduled for October 3.Among the demands agreed upon, according to the organiser — Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam — the NULM conservancy workers will receive a food allowance of ₹50 a day from October 1, while women’s toilets and restrooms will be constructed by September 30. Criminal cases filed during the previous government against those who supported sanitation workers’ protests will be withdrawn.About 160 battery-operated vehicles will be provided in Tondiarpet, Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar, and Anna Nagar zones. Families of sanitation workers who died while in service will be provided jobs and death compensation. Raincoats will be provided annually instead of once in two years, while workers will receive two masks a day and additional safety equipment, including gloves.A sanitation workers’ welfare board office will be established on the GCC campus, with an officer appointed to oversee it. Steps will be taken to ensure all workers register with this board. Officials will hold consultations with workers every two months, while the GCC Commissioner will meet workers’ unions every four months. The Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam will be provided space for a union office.The demands for permanent employment, weekly holidays, maternity and menstrual leave, and the ₹832 daily wage fixed by the Collector will be discussed on October 3, the organisation said. A meeting between Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and sanitation workers affiliated with the union is also expected to happen soon. The agreement covers several demands raised during the 14-day protest, it added. Published - September 04, 2026 09:28 pm IST