Activists in India have raised outrage over the number of deaths in New Delhi’s sewer system. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 prohibits manual scavenging, yet in the last 100 days, 39 workers have died while cleaning sewers, and this is not a rare occurrence. Activists also say that despite providing documents on 56 men who had died in the sewers, the authorities have not identified them, preventing their families from getting any compensation. For workers to win health and safety demands at work, they must be organised and take collective action.
Activists in India have raised outrage over the number of deaths in New Delhi’s sewer system. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 prohibits manual scavenging, yet in the last 100 days, 39 workers have died while cleaning sewers, and this is not a rare occurrence. Activists also say that despite providing documents on 56 men who had died in the sewers, the authorities have not identified them, preventing their families from getting any compensation. For workers to win health and safety demands at work, they must be organised and take collective action.
