Chennai, Sep 1 : The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Monday informed the Madras High Court that Delhi MSW Solutions Ltd, the private concessionaire entrusted with conservancy operations in two city zones, has agreed to pay absorbed workers their existing salaries until an ongoing industrial dispute is resolved.

Appearing before a division bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and R. Sakthivel, Advocate General P.S. Raman said the concessionaire would continue the last-drawn wages of conservancy workers in Zones V (Royapuram) and VI (Thiru.Vi.Ka. Nagar) as a temporary measure.

The concessionaire has its own wage structure, but following a meeting with GCC officials two days ago, it agreed to match the previous pay scale until the industrial disputes tribunal decides the matter.

The next hearing before the Tribunal is scheduled for September 3.

The issue stems from GCC's decision to outsource conservancy operations in the two zones to Delhi MSW Solutions.

On August 22, a bench of Justice K. Surender had refused to interfere with the Corporation's resolutions, noting that similar outsourcing had been carried out in other zones earlier.

However, while disposing of two writ petitions filed by the Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam, which represents conservancy workers, the judge directed the GCC to negotiate with the concessionaire to ensure employees were not paid less than their existing wages.

Challenging this, the Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam filed writ appeals before the division bench.

During Monday's hearing, senior counsel Vijay Narayan, representing the concessionaire, told the court that nearly 800 workers had not reported for duty, hampering garbage clearance in the two zones. With nearly 2,000 tonnes of waste to be lifted daily, the absence of workers had led to severe difficulties, he said.

After hearing submissions from all sides, the division bench declined to pass any interim order at this stage. Instead, it ordered notices to GCC and the concessionaire and posted the appeals for hearing on October 6.

In the meantime, the judges advised conservancy workers to return to work to prevent disruption in waste management. The case has significant implications for over 800 workers and the city's sanitation system, with the final outcome now hinging on the industrial dispute tribunal's ruling.

/IANS