They also demanded for proper education facilities for waste-workers’ children.
The demands were made at a media campaign titled ‘Safety and security of informal and household waste collectors’ jointly arranged by Jatrabari Waste Collection Workers' Union and Grambangla Unnayon Committee at the Jatiya Press Club.
Jatrabari Waste Collection Workers' Union President Rina Begum said permanent jobs are a crying need for the workers in order to support their family.
"We collect waste from various houses and roads in the city corporation areas and earn our livelihood by selling them especially various plastic and metal items found there...We could sell plastic at a higher price before, but now the selling rate has dropped. As a result, it has become very difficult to run the family. So we urge the city corporation authorities that we should be given jobs under them,” she said.
She mentioned that although the City Corporations are responsible for waste management, informal waste collectors and household waste collectors are working on their behalf.
“But the city corporations do not give us any Identity Card. We work without professional protection in harmful and dangerous environment. So we need to be provided with security,proper training and equipment,” said Rina Begum.
Other demands of the union include --- ensuring proper education, technical and vocational training and healthcare for the waste-workers’ children, creating time-befitting legal framework to ensure better health care and security of their livelihoods, introducing social safety net programme for the waste-workers.
Jatrabari Household Waste Collection Workers' Union President Rustam Ali and Grambangla Unnayon Committee Executive Director AKM Masud were present on the occasion.