Issue of permanent jobs for TN sanitation workers splits DMK partners

The issue of employment of sanitation workers in Tamil Nadu has created a rift between two partners in the state’s ruling alliance with the DMK — the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK).

While VCK leader Thirumavalavan says sanitation workers’ jobs must evolve beyond garbage collection, CPI(M) insists on regularisation of current jobs.

The debate surfaced prominently on Sunday (August 17), during the 62nd birthday celebrations of VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan at Kamarajar Arangam, Teynampet, Chennai.

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The event had a wide array of participants, including Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister PK Sekar Babu, and several other political and cultural figures.

VCK’s argument against permanent jobs

Speaking at the event, VCK leader Thirumavalavan stressed that the rights of marginalized communities cannot be restricted to demands for job security in traditional sanitation roles.

“We cannot agree with the idea that sanitation workers should be made permanent employees only to continue collecting garbage. Their status must be elevated. That is alternative thinking,” he declared, drawing loud applause from his supporters.

He elaborated that the children of sanitation workers must not be confined to the same occupations as their parents. “If this generation works in such jobs, the next generation must rise above it. That is what social justice truly means,” he said.

Thirumavalavan also rejected the notion that only he or his party should speak on Dalit issues. “To say that only Thirumavalavan should speak on Dalit issues is casteist thinking. Why shouldn’t AIADMK speak on it? Don’t they also have that responsibility?” he asked.

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The VCK leader further reminded the audience that he was among the first to visit the recent protest site of sanitation workers in Chennai. “Those who did not even know what the issue was are now deliberately spreading slander. We must respond with clarity and stand firm in our ideology,” he asserted.

CPM’s counter-argument to support regularisation

However, his remarks sparked open disagreement from alliance partner CPI(M), whose state secretary P Shanmugam flatly opposed Thirumavalavan’s stand.

“Regularisation of employment is a legal demand. That is exactly what sanitation workers are asking for. On this issue, Thirumavalavan’s remarks are not correct,” Shanmugam told reporters, stressing that permanence is a basic labour right.

He argued that permanent jobs are the only way to secure benefits and uplift families. “A couple, both sanitation workers, had permanent jobs. They educated their daughter, and today she is a professor. There are many such examples where permanent jobs and a decent salary helped families break out of poverty,” he said.

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Rejecting Thirumavalavan’s claim, Shanmugam said the demand for regularisation is not about keeping children in the same occupation. “It’s the opposite. Without permanent jobs, families stay poor and the next generation is forced back into the same work. Regularisation gives them the financial base to move forward,” he added.

Political observers say that the debate over sanitation workers’ rights has stoked the controversy on the uneasy balance being made by DMK government, between long-term social transformation and short-term labour justice of sanitation workers in Tamil Nadu.