The indefinite strike of Shimla Environment Heritage Conservation and Beautification (SEHB) society’s workers ended here today, after Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) agreed to accept their demand of rolling back the decision to abolish the 10 per cent annual salary hike.
The decision came after a meeting between Surinder Chauhan, Mayor, SMC, Uma Kaushal, Deputy Mayor, SMC, the representatives of SEHB workers and the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU), which was held here today.
During the meeting, talks were held regarding the workers’ demand. After detailed discussion, the Mayor gave a written agreement, wherein he agreed to restore their annual salary hike and apply the 4-9-14 pay scale benefits to everyone. The Mayor also agreed to restore 15 days of special leave, and to reinstate 41 SEHB workers who had been removed from service during the strike.
Chauhan said the corporation had earlier assured the workers that their demands would be addressed in the AGM, which was scheduled for June 4, however, they continued their strike. “We have been having meetings regarding their demands for the past few days and today we came to an agreement and all their issues have been resolved,” said the Mayor.
Jaswant Singh, president, SEHB workers, said the talks between the parties were progressive and the workers have agreed to end their strike after the corporation gave a written agreement regarding accepting their demands. “The official decision will be taken during the upcoming AGM, therefore, we have decided to call off our strike and will be joining our duties Friday onwards,” he said.
On May 15, hundreds of SEHB society workers went on an indefinite strike over the corporation’s decision to abolish the annual salary hike. As a result of the strike, cleanliness and door-to-door garbage collection across the state was significantly affected, causing huge inconveniences to the people. During this period, the corporation itself started to collect garbage from households and other parts of the town.
