Chennai, Nov 13 (NationPress) Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan has expressed strong criticism towards the DMK government for providing only superficial measures while a large number of sanitation workers in Chennai persist in their extended protest for job security and a halt to the privatisation of solid waste management. For over three months, sanitation workers from various unions have been actively demonstrating throughout the city, advocating for the regularisation of their services and opposing the outsourcing of waste management tasks in the Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones of the Greater Chennai Corporation.

Workers contend that this outsourcing initiative jeopardizes their livelihoods and disregards their years of dedicated service to the city. Murugan asserted that the government has displayed no genuine intention to tackle these pressing issues despite the magnitude and length of the protests. He critiqued the state's recent announcement regarding a free meal programme for sanitation workers, scheduled to launch on November 15, stating that the initiative appears to be merely an attempt to gain public attention rather than provide lasting assistance.

In his post on X, he raised doubts about whether the variety of meals promised would extend beyond the initial event attended by Chief Minister M. K. Stalin. Drawing a parallel with the state's free breakfast scheme for students, Murugan claimed that special items like puri, pongal, and vada are only prepared when the Chief Minister is present for promotional photographs. He accused the DMK government of prioritizing publicity stunts over authentic welfare and described it as a regime that is distracted with collection, corruption, and commissions.

Murugan further argued that the government’s welfare initiatives follow an advertising model that disguises systemic neglect. He noted that if the Chief Minister truly valued sanitation workers, the administration would have addressed their long-standing demands instead of organizing media-friendly events. His comments intensified the political pressure on the state government, as sanitation workers continue to assert that privatisation poses a threat to their job security and leads to exploitation.

While the Greater Chennai Corporation has maintained that outsourcing will improve efficiency, unions caution that it risks rendering hundreds of workers without stable employment. As the standoff stretches into its fourth month, workers have declared that they will not cease their agitation until the government engages with them in a meaningful and sustainable manner.