Navi Mumbai: 8,000 NMMC Contract Workers Launch Indefinite Strike Over Wage Parity
Navi Mumbai, 10th February 2025: Nearly 8,000 contractual employees of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) have announced an indefinite strike starting Monday, demanding “equal pay for equal work.”
The strike is expected to impact essential civic services such as sanitation, water supply, and healthcare.
For several months, workers have been protesting wage disparities, with some even staging a hunger strike outside the municipal headquarters since December 2024. They claim that despite multiple appeals, the administration has failed to take meaningful action to resolve their grievances.
The protest is being led by Samaj Samata Kamgar Sangh, a municipal workers’ union. Mangesh Lad, the union’s secretary, stated, “We have called for this strike to push for equal pay for equal work. Our members serve in various sectors, including healthcare, sanitation, water supply, and crematoriums. If our voices continue to be ignored, we will gradually halt operations across all departments.”
However, NMMC has refuted these allegations, asserting that it has consistently provided fair wages, bonuses, provident fund contributions, and other statutory benefits in line with the Minimum Wages Act.
The civic body further explained that it had sought guidance from the Maharashtra government on wage parity for contractual employees but did not receive additional funding for the purpose.
In response, the municipal commissioner formed a special committee, headed by an additional commissioner, to assess the legal and financial feasibility of the workers’ demands. The committee’s findings, based on legal provisions and previous court rulings, were shared with the labour unions, who subsequently rejected the report.
Amid the ongoing standoff, NMMC is holding discussions with labour representatives to prevent service disruptions.
