Civic staffers, officers of 10 municipalities go on mass leave, stage protest against K’taka govt
Bengaluru: More than 25,000 staffers and officers attached to 10 major civic agencies across the state, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), have gone on mass leave and staged protests in Bengaluru and various district headquarters against the state government, demanding the fulfilment of a slew of long-pending demands.
The protest was called by the Karnataka State City Corporation Employees’ Associations and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Officers and Employees Welfare Association.
Employees’ unions from municipal corporations in Bengaluru (BBMP), Mysuru, Hubballi, Dharwad, Mangaluru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Davanagere, Ballari, Shivamogga, and Vijayapura extended their support to the protest.
In Bengaluru, employees gathered at Freedom Park after officially applying for leave. More than 25,000 municipal employees across Karnataka participated in the protest. Sanitation workers have also expressed their solidarity and support.
Their key demands include the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, amendment of corporation service rules (CRs), which have not been updated for the past 15 years, and promotions for officers who have been in the same cadre for 10 to 15 years. They also demanded the inclusion of garbage collectors under the Jyothi Sanjeevini health insurance scheme.
Additional demands include: “Recognition of municipal workers as government employees, scrapping of the LOGSAFE attendance system, filling of 6,000 vacant posts across various BBMP wards, reduction of work pressure on municipal employees, dropping of departmental inquiries against headmasters in the municipal education wing. Timely promotions for engineers and assistant engineers, provision of health insurance facilities for all employees, finalisation of the seniority list of municipal workers, reinstatement of the earlier system in place of the current e-khata, granting of trade licenses to health supervisors, abolishment of the legally unrecognised ‘marshal’ posts.”
Employees from BBMP, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumakuru, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Davanagere, Mysuru, and Belagavi municipal corporations actively took part in the protest.
The protesting employees had earlier submitted multiple petitions to the Urban Development Minister and the department secretary urging them to address their grievances. However, after receiving no response, they decided to proceed with the protest.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai alleged, “Employees of ten municipal corporations are protesting because they have not been paid. The government has failed to disburse salaries owed to municipal and town employees.”
He said that it has been a year since an order was issued stating that municipalities must manage staff salaries from their own resources. “This reflects the worsening financial condition. The Chief Minister must immediately acknowledge these failures and release the necessary funds,” he said.
The strike comes amid the truckers halting the transportation of rice for free distribution across the state under the Anna Bhagya Scheme. The truckers have gone on an indefinite strike since Monday, seeking clearance of dues amounting to Rs 250 crore.