While the entire world and the country have been engulfed in various political, military, and economic flashpoints, Chennai has seen an ongoing protest movement from early August which has gathered little or limited attention from the people in the city. The media have largely stayed away or just reported the event.
Conservancy workers from two wards of the city occupied the pavement outside Chennai Corporation’s office until they were unceremoniously removed by the police based on a high court order. What did they want?
For years, conservancy workers have been asking the state government to change their employment status from contractual workers to permanent staff. They were also hoping for work-pay parity. But none of this has happened. Even a pay raise was a huge battle. Instead of being given support, workers were suddenly informed that conservancy work for their wards had been given to a private contractor. The present crisis has had a huge psychological impact on the workers and put all their previous legitimate demands on the back-burner. All they want now is to retain the status quo.
Privatisation has the potential to lead to the loss of jobs for some workers. Even those who will be retained by the private company may have to accept lower wages and no other benefits. While the high court intervened and said that the private company should ensure that the wages do not diminish, this is not the only issue. Principally, the government is washing its hands of all responsibility and changing the employer and employee relationship. In other words, the workers will be at the mercy of the private contractor with no security or possibility for redressal. They wonder why they should deal with a private contractor when their employer has been the government for so many years. This privatisation is a bureaucratic and political decision in which the employee has no stake. This is fundamentally a flawed procedure because those who will be affected are not participants in these conversations. When even labour unions find it difficult to challenge such decisions, contractual workers have little chance of being heard. Despite the fact that they did not have permanent jobs with the government, there was trust and a sense of security which is now being destroyed.
Most of those employed in this area of work come from marginalised communities, with many being single women who are the only breadwinners in their families. Their salary, even at the government’s hiked scale, is just about Rs 23,000 per month. With this meagre sum, they need to pay rent, take care of their monthly expenses, and educate their children. Life is a struggle and the challenges are more than just financial. Often, conservancy workers are not provided with protective gear, such as boots or gloves, to ensure their safety and health. Their occupation is stigmatised; they are invisible to the rest of us. Even if we notice them, we remain at a distance, often dropping a tip into their hands without touching them. Untouchability may have been abolished but the way we interact with conservancy workers when they come to our homes to pick our garbage stinks of discrimination. In our overt and subtle actions, we say a lot.
The manner in which the Tamil Nadu government handled this issue has been deeply troubling. There has been a complete lack of sensitivity and care. The government has largely behaved as if these people can be ignored and the attitudes have been high-handed. When the present chief minister, M.K. Stalin, was in the Opposition, he had written to the then chief minister saying that conservancy workers have always helped during times of crises and, hence, their jobs must be secured. But now, when in power, there has not been one word from him. The workers believed that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam would do right by them but that has not happened. This is a government that projects its ‘Dravidian model’ as a socially conscious, welfare-oriented development plan. But if it does not make any effort to listen to the voices of the disenfranchised, a fancy slogan cannot hide the truth. Social justice is not just the delivery of a service to the marginalised; it is an expression of respect and care.
What we are witnessing in Tamil Nadu is not unusual. This is how governments have and are operating across the country. Whether they belong to the Left or to the Right, when push comes to shove, it is the corporations that win. Governments have themselves become corporations. Doublespeak and obfuscation are par for the course, not just for governments. We, the socially privileged citizens, are as responsible for such situations. We know exactly what is going on but will never show any solidarity with the workers. Our fascination with privatisation and so-called efficiency
blinds us to their reality. New vehicles, fancy trucks and machinery are attractive and seen as signs of development. The thoughts, wishes and demands of those who sit within those vehicles are considered trivial and their work dismissed.
It is not easy for the poor to protest. They get paid on a daily basis and lose what little they earn for every day that they are on the streets. Women protesters sit on the street with no access to basic amenities. A protest is not a casual activity; there is a lot at stake, not to forget the security risks. When those of us passing by in our cars accuse protesters of being political tools, jobless people, and a nuisance, we are participating in the process that marginalises them further and give governments the confidence to do whatever they want.
When cities are hit by storms and when viruses ravage them, we make the right noises: clap for them, shower flowers on them, politicians eat at their homes and our tips become larger. We pat ourselves on our backs for our kindness. But the moment these demanding situations pass, they go back to becoming nobodies. We ignore the fact that on a daily basis, they make sure that we remain healthy and our children do not pick up diseases. They are also the caregivers of so many stray dogs and cats. When in the name of culture, we fight for our right to pollute the city by bursting crackers and burning old clothes, it is the conservancy workers who clean our mess and polluted environment.
All they ask for is fairness, dignity and their fundamental right to live their lives to the fullest. These are things we continue to deny them.
T.M. Krishna is a leading Indian musician and a prominent public intellectual
