A Calcutta airport official wrote an email to superiors earlier this week, alleging that a supervisor of a private agency contracted for housekeeping and cleaning had left the terminal several hours before her duty hours were over.

A few weeks ago, a similar mail was written by another official, complaining about a cleaning person missing from the place of duty and later found to have left the terminal much before schedule.

Several officials from the Calcutta airport stated that they faced substantial obstacles in getting the unionised cleaners working for private agencies at the terminal building to carry out their tasks.

The consequence is borne by tens of thousands of passengers who complain about dirty and stinking washrooms, stained floors and bins that are full to the brim.

“The worst problem faced by an employer is when the employees don’t listen to you. Several private agencies in Calcutta have been facing this problem for years, because the union’s control on them,” a senior airport official said.

Metro reported on Wednesday how a group of contractual employees of the private agency responsible for cleaning the departure level of the terminal staged an agitation in front of the airport manager’s office at gate 3C after one of them was asked to leave for not wearing a uniform. The agitation went on for 40 minutes in the presence of local Trinamool leaders.

“Almost every day, the contract worker who was asked to leave is not found at his post. Instead, a group of them are usually chatting,” said an airport official.

Another official remarked that this was a frequent occurrence with the other cleaners as well.

“Often, we find the cleaner designated for a washroom in the check-in area or security hold to be not there. The washrooms become dirty, and passengers complain,” said the official. “Then, we have to request others who are on duty at other places to clean those washrooms. At times, they would grudgingly agree, but on most occasions, they refuse, saying it is not their area of duty,” he said.

The other problem is the cleaners closing several washrooms together.

“They are supposed to clean one washroom in parts, keeping other portions operational when the cleaning is on in one part,” said an official. This never happens, he said.

“Not only that washroom, but others in the vicinity are closed because otherwise the ones operational have more pressure, and so the cleaners would have to work harder till the cleaning of the closed washroom is complete,” said one official.

Central Industrial Security Force personnel often request the airport manager on duty to intervene, and then the washrooms that are not being cleaned at that point are reopened. “This happens regularly, and passengers are inconvenienced,” said the
official.

The airport authorities have been for housekeeping since January 2013, but the contractual employees have remained the same.

According to reports, the authorities have commenced biometric entry for contractual employees at the time of signing out of duty. In the past, biometrics were exclusively used for joining duty.

“This was done to ensure that the contractual workers stay till their scheduled time. But they often go missing and are not found at their post,” said an official.