Municipal workers stage protest over facial attendance

Nellore: Members of AP Municipal Workers and Employees Union staged a protest rally from Dargah to the Corporation Office demanding exemption of municipal workers from the newly introduced facial recognition-based attendance system and payment of arrears of salaries to CLAP vehicle drivers.

The state government has asked all the contract and outsourced workers to download the app through a smart phone and attend it. As most of the workers are illiterate and do not know how to use smartphones, they were facing problem with it, stated the leaders. Secretaries of ward sachivalayam and sanitary inspectors are already being screened.

Giving 5 points in the 54 divisions of Nellore Municipal Corporation limits and getting facial attendance was a costly and laborious task for the municipal workers, the leaders informed and demanded the state government to immediately exempt the municipal workers from the new attendance process. Similarly, in respect of CLAP vehicle drivers, salaries for four months are not being paid. Salaries have been cut and PF and ESI contributions are not being credited into workers' accounts, they said.

Now Reddy agency is saying that the bills are not being paid from the corporation to them and they warned of taking the CLAP vehicles back. If this happens, around 50 drivers will be on the road, they lamented.

They also demanded that steps should be taken to ensure that they continue as corporation drivers and pay their dues. Later, a memorandum was submitted to the Municipal Commissioner Haritha. Municipal Workers & Employees Union district secretary K Penchala Narsaiah, CITU city and rural secretaries G Nageswara Rao and Kinnera Kumar participated.