As many as 60 workers from Coimbatore CITU staged a demonstration inside the city corporation campus and demanded that preference be given to temporary workers while recruiting permanent sanitary workers for the city Corporation here on Tuesday.

K. Rathnakumar, the District General Secretary, said that there were nearly 5,000 workers working with the corporation on contract basis. Out of this, 1,600 in the sanitary department, 250 in cleaning and labour department and 150 in corporation school works were temporary workers.

Rathnakumar said that while permanent sanitary workers are paid up to Rs. 500 a day, temporary workers were only paid up to Rs. 300 for the same work. “The corporation should pay the same salary to all sanitary workers, both the permanent and the temporary workers”.

Rathnakumar also stated that vacancies should be created based on the job needs in sanitary, water distribution and engineering departments. “The corporation should also give quarters to all the workers and maintain the existing quarters that are in poor condition,’ he added.

He also stated that the salary fixed by the government for sanitary workers should be distributed to workers fairly on a daily basis.

“The missed out Employee’s State Insurance, Employee’s Provident Fund, leave on national and local holidays with salary and bonus should be given to the workers as per government norms,” said Rathnakumar, adding that the staff who were working on consolidated pay should be identified and given the missed out salary.