Around 8,000 contractual workers of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) have declared an indefinite strike from Monday, demanding “equal pay for equal work”.
Essential civic services, including sanitation, water supply, and healthcare, are likely to disrupted due to the strike.
The workers have been protesting wage disparities for several months, with some participating in a hunger strike outside the municipal headquarters since December 2024. They argue that despite repeated appeals, the administration has not taken significant steps to address their concerns.
The strike is led under the banner of Samaj Samata Kamgar Sangh, a union of the municipal workers. Mangesh Lad, secretary of Samaj Samata Kamgar Sangh, said, “We called for the strike just to get the equal work equal pay criteria checked. We all work in different segments like healthcare, sanitation, water supply, cleanliness, crematorium, etc and if we are not heard we would step by step stop working in all the departments.”
NMMC, however, has denied these claims, stating that it has consistently ensured fair wages, bonuses, provident fund contributions, and other statutory benefits as per the Minimum Wages Act.
The civic body also emphasised that it sought guidance from the Maharashtra government regarding wage parity for contractual workers, but no additional funds were allocated for this purpose by the state government.
Following this, the municipal commissioner appointed a special committee, led by an additional commissioner, to examine the legal and financial feasibility of the workers’ demands.
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The committee’s report, based on legal provisions and past court rulings, was shared with labour unions, which were then rejected by them.
The NMMC is engaging in discussions with labor representatives to avoid disruption of services.