RMR Staff Intensifies Protest Against NDMC, Demands To Be Regularised

New Delhi: Fresh bout of trouble is brewing for New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), as hundreds of Regular Muster Roll Workers (RMR) or contractual workers staged a protest outside the office. Around 4500 contractual workers, under Group D of NDMC, have been demanding to be regularised for close to two decades.

The RMR personnel have said that even after several rounds of discussions with the NDMC Chairman Dharmendra, no specific date has been announced as to when the decision will be taken to regularise 4,500 workers. The protesting workers have also alleged that over the years several contractual employees have committed suicide over the issue wherein the NDMC had deemed them as mentally unfit, disturbed post suicide.

Several workers said that Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture and senior BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi has been one of the opposing forces on the regularisation of the contractual employees. Expressing dissatisfaction against the BJP leader, the RMR personnel said that the minister repeatedly did not pay heed to their plea.

"There are 4,500 RMR staff who are working in 19 different departments of NDMC including horticulture, civil, electrical, sanitation and others. We have met the NDMC Chairman several times to put forth our request to be regularised. We were assured that we will be regularised within 2 years. It has been 8 years since that promise was made," said Sudhakar Kumar, a RMR staff member.

The RMR people have now decided that they will stage a protest outside the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah till their demands are met. The workers also alleged that they have not been allowed to protest at the premises of NDMC office and are now forced to sit on a Dharna outside of its office gate.

"They have shut the gates on their own workers. Almost a year ago, an RMR person jumped from the 11th floor of the building and committed suicide. We are not going to back down on our demands any further. We will go to Amit Shah's house on March 15th to stage a protest. We have been warned by several people including the S.H.O that this might result in dire consequences. But what else is left for us to do," Kumar questioned.

RMR worker Suruchi Singh, who is a contractual employee in the social education department, says that the workers have been protesting since February 1 and that they have been threatened that batons might be used against them incase they continue to carry out the protest.