Shimla: Defying ESMA, SEHB Society workers on strike for two days; garbage not collected from homes

May 16, 2026

Despite the enforcement of ESMA, employees of the SEHB Society in Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh, have been on strike for two days. Consequently, garbage collection from thousands of households and commercial establishments across the city remained suspended on Saturday as well. During this period, the Society’s employees staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office to press for their demands.

The SEHB Society employees are demanding that the Municipal Corporation reinstate the decision regarding a 10 percent salary hike. The employees have made it clear that their strike will continue until their demands are met.

The employees’ decision to go on strike amidst the ongoing Swachh Survekshan (Cleanliness Survey) has compounded the difficulties faced by the Municipal Corporation. The Corporation has declared the employees’ strike illegal. The Municipal Commissioner has issued directives to all employees to return to work immediately. A total of 800 employees of the SEHB Society are currently on strike over their demands. This includes all SEHB personnel, ranging from door-to-door waste collectors, supervisors, and street sweepers to drivers.

During the protest held outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Shimla on Saturday, speeches were delivered by Union President Jaswant Singh, General Secretary Omprakash Garg, Vice President Amit Bhatia, and others. All speakers strongly condemned the decision to cut the 10 percent annual salary increment, terming it an act of “dictatorship” on the part of the Municipal Corporation administration.

They argued that the 3 percent Dearness Allowance (DA) announced as a substitute for the 10 percent annual salary increment would result in a monthly financial loss of ₹700 to ₹1,000 for every worker. In opposition to this move, they have called upon SAHEB personnel to launch a decisive agitation. The employees have accused the Shimla Municipal Corporation administration of being anti-labor.

They have demanded that the 3 percent DA should have been granted in addition to the 10 percent annual salary increment, rather than as a replacement for it. Furthermore, they alleged that the Municipal Corporation administration has spent an unnecessary sum of ₹2.5 crore on a QR code system fund that could have instead been utilized to employ 150 new workers and thereby alleviate the existing workload on the current staff. Jaswant Singh, President of the SEHB Society Union, reiterated, “We will not return to work until our demands are fully met.”