The lethal cost of sanitation work in India

India’s sanitation workers wage struggle for fairer working conditions

May 08, 2019 by Surangya

Sanitation workers in India’s Delhi University are on a strike after being fired from their jobs without any explanations. They had already been struggling for fair working conditions with the company in charge, Sulabh International. However, irregular wages and lack of benefits are a very small part of the struggles faced by Indian sanitation workers. They have been fighting against stigma and caste oppression, which their work is deeply tied to, and for an end to the practice of manual scavenging, which has taken thousands of lives over the years.