Five sanitary workers of Pune civic body succumb to COVID-19

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has reported five deaths of its permanent staff, all of whom are women and Class-IV employees who provide essential services like cleaning hospitals and picking up garbage from city streets. The deaths have raised questions regarding the safety of Class-IV employees, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of the deceased, four are sanitation workers while one is a hospital sanitation staff. Civic officials claimed that they have given gloves, sanitisers and soaps to all its Class-IV employees, but cited their inability to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to these employees.

A total of 48 PMC staff, including permanent and contractual, have been infected by Covid-19 so far.
Officials told Hindustan Times that masks used and discarded by the public on streets or homes get mixed with regular waste which is then handled by the PMC staff. Twelve mechanical sweepers have been deployed at prime roads to ensure that the staff does not come in touch with the waste.”

Meanwhile, the PMC labour union is demanding that contractual staff be treated at par with PMC staff and provided health insurance, along with better quality masks and gloves.