Online edition of Sunday Observer

The privileged hierarchy of Colombo's municipality may be lucky enough to enjoy the perks offered them like flashy cars, yearly bonuses and the comforts of good living in general. But for those at the lower rungs of the ladder life is one huge nightmare as they struggle to make ends meet with poor take- home pay,and endure much hardships as a result of not having even the basic facilities that a worker is entitled to by law.

Disgusted labourers who represent the over 4,000 workforce who are responsible for cleaning up the city say that their average salary which is around Rs. 3,000 is hardly sufficient to put food on the table for their families.

"With the usual cuts for distress loans etc, we end up with a take home pay of a little over one thousand rupees", says one labourer whose years of hard toil in inclement weather is clearly reflected on his heavily lined face and emaciated body.

Velu (not his real name) who looks 70 although his real age is 52, says he has worked for the CMC for over 18 years and has never got a bonus or extra gratia payment for working round the clock." I don't take any leave unless I'm sick, because I need the overtime. But with OT amounting to just 10 rupees an hour it isn't much to put by for a rainy day', he says.

His neighbour Saku (not her real name) is 50 years. But like Velu, years of suffering and working in harsh weather conditions has left their toll on her body and face."When we fall sick we have to go to the municipal clinic. The CMC does not pay if we enter a private clinic", she says.

Scavenging labourers complained they had no separate lockers to lock up their personal belongings, no separate dining table or even running water and toilets in some CMC offices.

This writer had a glimpse of the nightmare conditions both they and the supervising staff endured in one of the depots in Colombo. A room perhaps 20 feet by 14 housed two desks of the supervisors minus locks, a fan that had quit working several months ago, and a former toilet now transformed into a store room since there had been no response to mend the broken seat and flush .Adjoining the room was another open enclosure resembling a cattle shed where the workers were expected to dine, sleep (if they found the time for a catnap) and keep their personal belongings which were lumped together in two or three lockers that had padlocks bought by the workers. A large tool box occupied pride of place in the same room. Outside an open drain served as the toilet (even for visitors) while water for drinking and bathing was provided in a trough more suitable for horses or cattle.

The small yard around which the open drain (cum toilet) ran, was overflowing with old cardboard pieces and empty tins. "This is not junk", the manager tells me emphatically. "For the labourers it represents money - which they can earn by selling this stuff to the bottle man.So we don't throw it away". A mesh pitted with holes over barbed wire serves as the `wall'.

What if a worker were to injure himself or herself badly? I asked." Then we pay out of our own money to take them in a taxi to the general hospital. As you can see we don't even have a first aid box here", points out one of the supervisors.

Adjoining the room was another open enclosure resembling a cattle shed where the workers were expected to dine, sleep (if they found the time for a catnap) and keep their personal belongings

On rainy days the depot gets flooded and on sunny days the heat is unbearable, he complains." Sometimes children going to school in the rain have fallen on the uneven pavement and injured themselves. Although we have told the authorities repeatedly nothing has happened."

When it comes to salaries, supervisors are not much better off than the labourers, I learned. One of them said he had worked for 26 years and never received a single bonus. " My take home pay minus the cuts is a little over Rs 5000. I have three children all schooling. What can you do with such a paltry salary"? he asks.

Colombo city has 47 wards and 47 depots. Half of these are privately owned which is why they are in a much better condition that those run by the CMC, says a worker. "You can tell the difference at once in the depots maintained by private companies by their clean and neat appearance and the way they look after their staff. Ours on the other hand get a raw deal", says a supervisor.

Despite these shortcomings most workers still consider this as their home." I have risen from the ranks first as an overseer and now as a supervisor over the past 30 years since I joined the CMC. In spite of being so badly treated I still consider it my second home." Because of their low salaries, employees say they can't get bank loans and are never able to save for a rainy day. "Can you blame us if some of our staff resorts to taking bribes"? he asks. All he asks for is more humane treatment to the workers. "Give them a better pay, more facilities and reward those who really work hard. Many of them are deaf, dumb and even half blind because of the nature of their work. But nobody seems to care about them. These labourers form the backbone of the CMC. They deserve a place in the sun", says a concerned supervisor who says he has personally taken up a crusade to help them in his own small way.