Patna Municipal Corporation employees go on indefinite strike

Following three days of symbolic strike, around 4000 employees of Patna Municipal Corporation launched an indefinite strike from today, as garbage piled up on streets of the capital city.
"Since our demands were not met satisfactorily, we decided to keep off work for an indefinite period," Neeraj Kumar Verma, General Secretary of PMC Employees Union told PTI.
The demands included wage hike for daily workers and life long pension for family of the deceased staff, he said.
With garbage piled up in the city due to the three-day strike by PMC employees, their decision to keep off work indefinitely will make life of citizens miserable.

There are around 4000 workers in the PMC, of which 1500 are permanent and the rest daily wagers.
Patna Commissioner Anand Kishore said the authorities have made alternative arrangement and decided to deal firmly with those trying to create mischief.

Kishore, who held a high-level meeting today on the strike, said councillors of a total of 72 wards have been given a target to arrange 20 sweepers each and 125 Home Guards would be deployed at all water pumps in Patna.
The Commissioner said "no work, no salary" would be applied on striking employees and asked contractual employees to return to work failing which their contract could be cancelled.

Kishore also told daily wage labourers to immediately join work or else their service would be terminated.
Principal Secretary Urban Development Amrit Lal Meena who was in the meeting, said sweepers would be called from neighbouring districts during the strike period.