Mumbai: The BMC sanitation workers held a protest march at Azad Maidan on Thursday opposing the civic body’s plan to appoint a single agency for citywide waste collection, transport, manpower, and vehicle maintenance.
However, the Municipal Workers Action Committee (MWAC) which leads the workers, has postponed the strike until July 23 following a meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The BMC has invited bids for a “service-based” waste management system, aiming to outsource cleaning and transport across all 21 wards. The bids are set to be opened on Friday.
However, a joint committee of seven unions has demanded the proposal's cancellation, warning of a citywide strike. In response, sanitation workers gathered at Azad Maidan on Thursday afternoon.
MWAC delegation met Fadnavis, demanding a reconsideration of the tender for appointing private contractors, no reduction in workforce, no changes to service conditions, permanent absorption of all contractual workers, and housing with ownership rights for sanitation workers.
“A meeting will soon be held between Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and union leaders to discuss the issue. If our demands are not met, we will go on strike after July 23,” said Ramakant Bane, a member of the MWAC.
Mumbai generates approximately 7,000 metric tonnes of waste daily. To manage this, around 1,334 vehicles are deployed some owned by the BMC, while the majority are provided by private contractors.
Currently, the BMC operates on a hiring-based contract model where contractors supply vehicles on a rental basis, while all other waste management operations are handled directly by the civic body.
Only four wards—L (Kurla), M East (Govandi), and M West (Chembur)—use municipal vehicles, as these areas are closer to the Kanjur Marg and Deonar dumping grounds.
