pourakarmikas

The woman got on to the bus, gave the conductor a two rupee coin and prepared to get off two stops later. I caught her eye and said, sternly, "Pay proper charges and get a ticket, or you'll be fined Rs 150." "All right amma, sorry" she said, alighting at the new flyover, "I work here, sweeping the rubble, and earn Rs 2,000 a month, I have to live on that."The budget for the flyover is several crores. Workers like her who build it, earn for a whole month's work, what an entry level software employee in our IT city,…

BBMP Contract Pourakarmika Workers Association staged a protest today at BBMP head office about the pending salaries for the past two months. Around 1,000 workers participated in the protest. They demanded that the system of paying salaries through contractors should be done away with and be paid directly by BBMP. The pourakarmikas say that the contractor usually pays only half the salary, that too as cash and not via cheques. They also demanded for minimum wage and proper identity cards. Pourakarmikas protesting at BBMP head office. Pic: Sankar C G “We are not getting minimum wage on time as mentioned…

Dear Friends,We are often remembered by some people. In fact, we are called ‘the real labourers’. Sometimes you invite us to the podiums, praise and even felicitate us. Time and again we have heard people say ‘pourakarmikas are the true doctors of this city, they keep the city clean and prevent diseases, that there should be a salary raise for pourakarmikas. That would be the just thing to do’. We don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the repeated statements. We are appealing to you through this letter, as sympathetic and conscious citizens, for your help.Hence, we have a…