TRIAL AND ERROR IN PRIVATISATION IN HYDERABAD 107
and kamatans. Despite the fact that the MCH calculates the same amounts for male
and female labourers, the former earned between Rs 60 and Rs 100 more per month.
As far as the secondary labour conditions are concerned none of the interviewed
contractors contributed to the ESI and PF. Although the MCH gave preference to
companies with a PF and ESI code, almost none of the contractors have one. Another
condition that was frequently violated by the contractors is the condition to recruit
additional labourers to give other employees the opportunity to take their leave days.
Partly as a result of this, labourers usually work more days per month than stipulated.
A striking example of the inability or reluctance of the MCH to acquit itself of its regu-
latory role is related to the position of the female labourers According to the 1971
Andhra Pradesh Contract Labour Rules female contract labour should in principal not
be employed by the contractor before 6.00 a.m. or after 7.00 p.m. In fact, most
sweepers working nightshifts are female (just like the situation during daytime).
Organised labour
According to the Indian labour laws the labourers have the right to organise. The MCH
labourers have taken advantage of this right: a large majority (74 percent) of them is
registered as a member of a labour union. Most of them (53 percent) belong to the
Andhra Pradesh Municipal Sahakar Mazdoor Union (INTUC), which is politically
affiliated to Congress. Another 40 percent is member to the MCH workers union
(AITUC). All the unions oppose the municipality’s privatisation policy and appeal for
the removal of the ban on new recruitments of MCH labourers However, the unions
are strongly divided and look with suspicion at each other’s strategies (cf. the involve-
ment of two union welfare organisations in contracting). While some of the unions
expressed their willingness to absorb the labourers of the contractors, others regarded
this as an implicit recognition of the privatisation campaigns of the MCH. In practise
all the unions tend to focus on the MCH labourers and their labour conditions.
The labourers of the contractors are not organised. Only one of the interviewed
labourers stated that he was a member of a labour union. In addition to the fear of losing
their jobs, many labourers were simply unaware of labour unions and their activities.
Perceptions about the job
Most of the private labourers regard their current jobs as better than their previous
ones, both in terms of security and pay. To illustrate this, more than 70 percent of the
labourers said that they were not actively looking for a new job. Furthermore, about
78 percent of them expressed a desire to continue with this kind of work in the future.
About one fifth of this group thinks that involvement in the sector as contract labourer
enhances their chances for a permanent position at the MCH.