Chairman of Punjab State Safai Karamcharis Commission Geja Ram on Thursday said that a recommendation has been made to cancel the contract between Safai Workers and private contractors with i mmediate effect.He said that now the salary of the Safai Workers should be directly credited into their bank accounts. The Commission's Chairman while presiding over the meeting, where all department heads were present, also interacted with the Safai Workers and their union presidents. He asked the officers of the Municipal Corporation to ensure the safety of the Safai Workers who clean the sewerage pipes. He also stated that now government officials would be held responsible for the delay of salaries of Safai Workers and they must ensure that workers should also get full salaries. He also pointed out that a Special Investigation Team comprising of DC, SP, Labour Department official and Welfare Officer should be formed to ensure Safai Workers safety while working in the sewerage pipes. Terming the deaths of such workers in the pipelines as very unfortunate he also enquired about the well being and jobs provided to the close relatives of those who died while cleaning the sewerage pipes.
Geja Ram also warned that strict legal action would be initiated against the officers who would fail to comply with Commission's orders.He also said that sewerage workers have a great role in the society and in return the society should also respect such employees working to clean the sewerage pipes. The Chairman also directed the corporation officials of all the municipal councils to prepare seniority list of permanent employees for their promotion.He also directed the health department officials to set up special camps for medical checkup of the persons involved in the work of sewerage cleaning to ensure their good health.Additional Deputy Commissioner-General, Sukhpreet Singh Sidhu, Commissioner Municipal Corporation Bikramjit Singh Shergill, Assistant Labor Commissioner Gurwant Singh Brar, General Administrator Kanwarjit Singh and newly appointed trainee PCS officer Manjinderjit Kaur were among the others who were also present in the meeting.Deputy Commissioner B. Srinivasan assured that the district administration will safeguard the interests and monetary benefits of the Safai Workers.