Domestic breeding checkers (DBCs) in Delhi have vowed to strike in response to an increase in vector-borne diseases in the national capital. Their demands include equitable remuneration and employment regularization. The workers’ union has given the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) a 15-day notice that if their demands are not met, they will go on strike. even as low as Rs 18,000 a month,” said Devanand Sharma, head of the Anti-Malaria Ekta Karamchari Union. “If everyone is doing similar work, there shouldn’t be such differences in salary,” stated the man.
One of the main complaints raised is the uneven payout of bonuses. “Every year, before Diwali, they announce bonuses, but some employees receive Rs 7,000 while others receive Rs 1000. Bonuses in North and East Delhi have not been paid in the last 2-3 years, according to Sharma.
Furthermore, the employees claim that while Provident Fund deductions are done, the funds do not reach their Employee Provident Fund accounts. The DBCs were engaged on contract by the department in 1996, following a devastating dengue strain that caused 10,000 infections and 423 deaths. Initially, 1,100 domestic breeding checkers (DBCs) were hired; MCD now has 3,112 DBCs.
While the workers, who have been designated as MCD’s Multi-Tasking Staff since November of last year, have long demanded equal pay and job security, an indefinite strike in July had some effect, as the workers returned to work with promises of future negotiations. However, without further discussion of their demands, the workers believe they have no choice except to threaten another walkout.
“We have sent five letters so far asking for solutions, but they are not even ready to talk,” Sharma told me.DBCs also wanted help for the families of workers who died on the job. Since 1996, 52 DBCs have died from infections received while at work. A proposal to provide jobs to the spouses of departed workers was proposed in the MCD House in November 2023, but the agenda has since been deferred.