‘Give them salary slips mentioning take-home component, mandatory deductions for PF, ESI’

Mysore/Mysuru: Asking officers at the helm of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) to ensure that all Pourakarmikas are looked after well with optimal health condition, Deputy Commissioner Dr. K.V. Rajendra said that regular health check-up camps must be organised to make sure that these warriors of cleanliness do not suffer from any diseases.

Chairing a meeting of Pourakarmikas at the DC Office on Wednesday to listen to their grievances, the DC asked the officers to assign a few hospitals to exclusively treat the ailments of civic workers as they form the backbone of the city administration.

He also asked them to admit certain Pourakarmikas who are chronic alcoholics and also addicted to tobacco to de-addiction centres so that they too can lead a healthy life.

Stating that every month, all Pourakarmikas must be given salary slips in Kannada that mention the entire salary, take-home component and mandatory deductions for Provident Fund and ESI, the DC said: “There have been numerous complaints that salaries are withheld by giving the excuse of lack of proper documentation. This must stop and the officers who are in charge of disbursement of salaries must treat this as a personal task and rectify the documentation errors without shifting the blame on the Pourakarmikas.”

State Pourakarmika Association President D.R. Raju said that there were certain officers in the MCC who harassed the civic workers. There are instances where some Pourakarmikas have ended their lives unable to bear the harassment, he alleged citing a recent suicide case. Raju demanded immediate registration of a murder case and also book criminal cases under the provisions of SC/ST Act.

The Association has demanded a series of measures that have to be initiated by the State Government including filling up vacancies and the abolition of the roster system in 2022 recruitment. Appointment of 562 permanent, 839 direct payment and 734 additional Pourakarmikas on a contract basis according to the population of Mysuru city that currently stands at 10,30,000 and the constant  arrival of tourists.

Other demands include the scrapping of face recognition technology through smartphones to register attendance. There was also a demand to appoint Pourakarmikas in all the 13 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) around Mysuru city as per the norm of one Pourakarmika for every 700 persons.

In the new ULBs of the Hootagalli City Municipal Council, Srirampura Town Panchayat and Town Panchayats of Bogadi, Kadakola and Rammanahalli there are over 176 Pourakarmikas and their salaries have to be streamlined using money from a Fund Based Accounting, a system of book-keeping under which separate funds for different purposes are created in the books of account.

MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy, MCC Additional Deputy Commissioner M.J. Roopa, State Pourakarmika Association Working President Manchaiah, Secretary Dinesh Kumar, State Vice-President G.A.N. Chama and others  were present.