Blame the Garbage Collectors for Not Using Safety Gear & Not their Employer?

Blame the Garbage Collectors (Pourakarmikas) for Not Following Safety Standards and Not using Safety Gear, like not wearing Gloves, Safety Shoes, Face Mask etc and Not their Employer, Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd ?

Mangaluru : If our Mangaluru aka Kudla aka Kodiyal aka “Smart City” (however you call it) , if it looks clean every single day the credit should go to the hard working Pourakarmikas (garbage collectors) of Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd, the company hired for waste collection of the City. There might be a few NGO’s or organizations engaging in the Swachatha of Mangaluru, but theirs is a short term contribution/service. It’s these Pourakarmikas who wake up early in the morning, while most of us are still in bed, may it be rain or shine, are ready for their daily job, cleaning the mess created by good and bad citizens of Mangaluru.

Every day we produce tonnes of waste – waste food, sugar cane husk, banana peels, waste meat and vegetables, egg shells, etc etc – which all get dumped into the dustbin, or in plastic bags or thrown along the side of the roads. Most of us give no second thought to where this garbage is going, let alone the people who come to whisk it out of our lives. These men and women, most of them hailing from North Karnataka, live in various parts of the City, and they wake each morning at half past five or earlier and make their way to their mustering points, where they are required to assemble before they start their rounds. Their attendance is recorded through a photograph, after which they begin their familiar route, with nothing but a cup of chai to keep them going. The group goes from apartment to apartment in the community, collecting their sorted green waste (if at all?) and rejected waste. While a few others sweep the streets filled with waste, and collect waste thrown on the road side.

As anyone can guess, this is not a pleasant job to do, but the lack of amenities provided to them exponentially increases its difficulty and how unhygienic it is. Even though they have been provided all the safety gear like gloves, shoes, face mask etc, the garbage collectors don’t sue them-thereby putting their lives in risk, while they do sorting through the stinking mass of garbage barehanded, and climb into it with no proper covered shoes, instead wearing open chappals. Many citizens have blamed Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd for not providing the needed safety gear- but in reality the company does provide all the safety gear their workers need, but it is workers who don’t use them. So, who is to be blamed, if they get injured or sick?

The stench of rotting vegetables, meat and what not, is one which most people would avoid like the plague, but these workers have no choice but to breathe in day after day. “At the beginning, when you are new to the job,” said Seenu, “you tend to get more affected by the smell. But what to do about it, you just have to try and ignore it.” After his years surrounded by the disgusting odour, however, it hardly bothers him anymore. The discomfort does not end there, as the job requires standing for hours on end with hardly any chance for a rest. Picking up and dumping trash bins over and over for hours each day is physical­ly taxing, to say the least, but when you throw extreme temperatures into the mix it becomes even more dangerous. In the summer, workers have to stay constantly hydrated in order to avoid heatstroke; a very serious risk for them in the hot months and in the monsoon, they must be sure taking pre­cautions to avoid getting cold and fever. Hazardous materials inside trash cans are also a concern. Many get injured from broken glass, used medical needles, nails from construction debris, and many other waste items, but they don’t report.

So, the next time you think of those dirty jobs, don’t forget that some of them (like the tireless job of your hardworking garbage collector) are more than just dirty; they are also more dangerous than you might have realized. Just to find out whether the Company provides the necessary safety gear, Team Mangalorean met Prakash Kurup-the Project In-Charge, and he was kind enough to explain and clarify the doubts, which many citizens have on the Company. Prakash explaining said, “In the beginning we had provided everyone with safety gloves and shoes, unfortunately we found out that our employees don’t wear them, instead store them in the garbage hauling vehicle. Even though we have warned them about the safety hazards by not wearing the safety gear, all our efforts are in vain”.

He further said, “Even at the beginning of the pandemic, we provided them with brand new gloves and face masks, but they all flout the Covid-19 rules by not adhering to it. Beginning of the shift, they all wear the safety gear, in front of the supervisor, but once they are on the road/job, they remove them. We can’t be behind them all the time, to check whether they are following the rules. They need to understand the safety of their lives and not neglect and be careless, and put their lives in risk. So, the company does provide all the safety gear, and it is the workers who misuse them. Hope I made it clear for the citizens of Mangaluru, so that they don’t blame the company for negligence towards the employees”.

Well said by Prakash, and if the pourakarmikas don’t wear gloves, no masks and sometimes no apron, will hinder their work as they complain of dust and foul smell while sweeping or collecting waste. Speaking to a garbage collector, as to why he is not wearing gloves, shoes and mask, he said, “It is a hassle, and feels very uncomfortable, especially during summer time, when we sweat, to wear the gloves and shoes. I do agree that the company has provided all the safety gear”. Saraswathi, yet another pourakarmika said, “I do wear all the safety gear, for the safety of my life. I can’t put my life in jeopardy, while working on this job, where we come across glass pieces, syringes, sharp objects, etc- I do have a family, therefore I am careful while on duty. I can’t afford to get sick. Medical bills are additional expenses that I can’t afford. Also, if I fall sick often and remain absent from work, I may be sacked, due to my carelessness.”

Ramu, who had no gloves, no face mask, just slippers while he was loading garbage, when asked why he is careless when it comes to safety of his health, he said, “Sorry Sir, all my safety gear is in the vehicle. I appreciate the company providing us with the safety material, but it is totally ignorant on my part disobeying the rules. I promise to wear gloves, face mask and shoes in future”. So, all you citizens, now know whom to blame- whether the company or the garbage collectors, for not adhering to the safety standards. Guidelines of the Swacch Bharat Mission mandate safety measures for the municipal workers. These include provision of a set of gloves, masks, apron and shoes on a daily basis. And, even though, the company provides all these, the workers don’t wear them.

This morning, Team Mangalorean noticed that none of the Pourakarmikas were neither wearing gloves nor masks while sweeping and picking up garbage. It is mandatory that pourakarmikas should be provided equipment and safety gear so that they can discharge their duties properly and safely, by the company- and even though, company does provide all the required facilities, the employees are the one who are negligent. The authorities should bring awareness among these pourakarmikas the importance of safety guidelines. However, though Antony Waste Co has provided safety gear, many pourakarmikas work without wearing gloves, shoes, masks or overcoats.

If you look around, the working conditions of pourakarmikas in City observed at a time when they are working to keep the city clean through lockdown and when illness from Covid-19 is being reported to have become widespread- the workers are taking it easy, without any concern to their health. The district administration or MCC should protect the pourakarmikas from being exposed to Covid-19. Apart from the company, it is the duty of civic agencies to protect pourakarmikas from any risk of contracting diseases due to the work they do. And these directives required pourakarmikas and other sanitation and health workers are provided with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment. However, not a single Pourakarmika was seen to be wearing boots while at work, in any of the wards.

It would be nice if civic agencies mandatory brief workers on the risks they are exposed to when working during Covid 19 pandemic. Talks or orientation sessions should be held to inform the sanitation workers about the dangers of the virus and why appropriate protection is a necessity in such times. They need to be briefed about maintaining physical distancing, avoiding touching their faces, the importance of wearing safety gears at all times while handling waste, the appropriate way of storing gloves and masks, how to disinfect themselves, etc. Even the tipper van drivers and helpers were found to be even worse off than the pourakarmikas in not following the safety rules- so they also need to be warned.

When fears about COVID-19 abound, the super-rich can afford to isolate themselves. They are stocking up food, sanitisers, toilet paper, and also checking into resorts in exotic locations. Little is the world thinking about those who are fighting to contain the disease. Pourakarmikas,must work, no matter what – all to ensure the city is clean and the rest of us are protected from the dreaded virus. If we don’t do right by our pourakarmikas during a pandemic, it is well-nigh never. We need to do the following on a war footing, to ensure these workers neither get infected nor unwittingly infect others. They should ensure all the protective gear they need for work is made available to them on site, in ample quantities and good condition. If they don’t wear protective gear, they should not be allowed to work.

The garbage collectors must be trained about public and environmental health – and not just during a pandemic – so that they can be messengers of healthy living. And particularly during a pandemic, they must be trained to protect themselves from risks and to ensure they do not become vectors. They must be told everything we now know about COVID-19, risk factors, and how to deal with those. For, they are our front-line warriors to keep the virus at bay. Many of these workers are not young, and it’s important to counsel them on the risks of exposure to the virus. By ensuring the above, we aren’t doing workers any favours. Rather, this is the minimum we are required to do. The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our humanism. Let’s get it right, right now, so that all of us – and not just those who can afford to quarantine themselves – can stay healthy.

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