Gadwal: The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has demanded that the government immediately release three months’ pending wages of sanitation workers employed in government schools. On Monday, CITU district vice president Upper Narasimha led a protest in front of the District Collector’s office and submitted a representation.

Speaking on the occasion, Narasimha said that sanitation workers, who play a vital role in maintaining hygiene in schools and protecting students’ health, have not been paid for three months. “How can workers feed their families without regular wages?” he questioned.

He alleged that instead of depositing wages directly into the workers’ bank accounts, payments were being routed through women’s self-help groups. As a result, when these groups defaulted on their loans, banks were seizing the sanitation workers’ wages. Narasimha further claimed that some AAP chairpersons were demanding commissions from workers, and those who refused were being denied wage cheques.

Highlighting past issues, he said that during the previous academic year, sanitation workers were paid for only eight months despite working the entire year. In some schools, headmasters even imposed cuts on their already meagre salaries.

CITU put forward several key demands:

Immediate payment of the three months’ pending salaries.

Regular monthly disbursal of full-year wages.

Direct credit of salaries to workers’ bank accounts.

Provision of necessary sanitation materials by the government.

Extension of PF and ESI benefits.

Implementation of a minimum wage of ₹26,000 per month for sanitation workers.

Narasimha warned that only through united struggles would workers achieve justice, and called upon the sanitation workforce to prepare for further agitations.

The protest saw participation from town president and secretary Raghu and Renuka, along with workers Govindamma, Santoshamma, Mallamma, Akira Begum, Lakshmann, Murali, Nagaraju, Govindu, Venkatanna, Bhagyamma, Narsimha, Shantanna, and others.