Policemen detained more than 400 sanitation and conservancy workers in Chennai on Friday as they tried to intensify their ongoing protest against the privatisation of garbage clearing work under the Greater Chennai Corporation.The workers, many of them women, have been staging demonstrations since August 1, opposing the outsourcing of solid waste management services in the Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones. They want their jobs to be made permanent under the Corporation instead of being handed over to private contractors.
On Friday, a group representing the protesters, mainly from the Uzhaipor Urimai Iyakkam (Right of Workers Movement), attempted to hold a rally in front of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat to press their demands. Police moved in and detained the workers, removing them from the protest site.
The sanitation workers have repeatedly protested for job regularisation, job security and fair wages, and have been detained multiple times during their months‑long agitation. Union leaders say the demonstrations will continue until the state government addresses their concerns.