Four workers of the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), posted at the Godakondla project station here, climbed a signal tower in support of their demands, including equal pay for equal work, on Saturday.
The workers climbed the huge tower around 11 a.m., even as their colleagues on the premises poured kerosene on themselves and protested. The HMWSSB workers said their wages should be regularised and should be credited directly by the Board, as was being done for the Electricity Department. The workers also demanded that they be treated on a par with government employees, since job security even for long-time employees remained uncertain. According to HMWS&SB Union’s state president Palla Devender Reddy, the promise of Chief Minster K. Chandrasekhar Rao to regularise contract workers remained to be achieved.
Board officials, including Chief General Manager D. Sudarshan and General Manager Dasarath, who arrived at the spot around 8.30 p.m., sought two days for talks and follow-up.
The workers remained atop the tower till last reports came in.
