New Delhi: A civil rights group has raised an alarm over the non-payment of wages to nearly 1,500 sanitation workers deployed across 250 schools under the directorate of education (DoE).The workers, employed through an outsourcing agency, allegedly did not receive their salaries for the past five months. In a letter to the education secretary, education activist and advocate Ashok Aggarwal highlighted the grave financial and social distress faced by these workers. The civil rights group called the situation “inhuman and unjustified”, stressing that immediate intervention is necessary to uphold both labour rights and constitutional guarantees.“For the last five months, these sanitation workers have not been paid their due salaries. It is most unfortunate that these employees, who already belong to a very low-income group and live hand-to-mouth, are being subjected to such inhuman treatment. Their families are suffering immense financial and social hardship due to the denial of timely payment of wages for work already performed,” the letter stated.Underscoring the legal implications of the delay, it added, “It may be appreciated that non-payment of salaries to employees is not only illegal and unjustified, but also amounts to a violation of their fundamental right to livelihood guaranteed under Articles 21 and 23 of Constitution of India, apart from being against the mandate of various labour laws.”The letter urged the education department to take urgent corrective steps. “I earnestly request you to kindly intervene in the matter and issue necessary directions to the authorities/agencies concerned for immediate disbursement of the pending salaries to all such sanitation workers without any further delay.” It also requested that a proper mechanism be put in place to ensure that such delays don’t recur. Queries sent to DoE officials went unanswered. The problem is not new. Last year, during a school visit by the then chief minister, sweepers and cleaners revealed their plight, saying they went unpaid for months.
