After about 25 years of struggle, contractual workers employed with the TB department under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will finally receive a timely annual bonus for Diwali 2024. This January, the workers will receive a bonus of Rs 5,000 for Diwali 2023. There have been multiple instances over the last two decades where the demand for a bonus was raised. However, unions were told that it was not feasible to accommodate contractual workers for the bonus.

“Earlier, the workers were a part of Sena unions. They had also made numerous attempts to persuade BMC to extend bonuses to the workers. In 2019, about 281 workers joined our union, and we decided to push for this issue,” said Ramakant Bane, general secretary of The Municipal Union.