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JNU students allege deterioration in cleanliness as contractual staff continue strike over bonus, paid leaves
The university administration denied any disruption to campus operations, stating that discussions are underway with the workers to address their grievances.
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Students at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi have alleged that campus cleanliness has deteriorated, with garbage left uncollected and a foul smell, amid the ongoing agitation by contractual workers, which entered its eighth day on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the university administration denied any disruption to campus operations, stating that discussions are underway with the workers to address their grievances and resolve the matter at the earliest.
On November 2, around 650 sanitation workers went on strike, including 250 deployed to clean hostels and the remainder responsible for maintaining cleanliness in other campus areas, such as academic buildings, eateries, and internal roads. Their key demands include a Diwali bonus, an increase in workforce, paid leave and the formation of a grievance redressal cell.
What the students say
Ranvijay, a PhD scholar who resides in JNU’s Satluj Hostel, said the washrooms, which are ideally cleaned every day, are being cleaned only once every three to four days.
“The hostel has around eight contractual staff and two permanent staff, with the former being on strike; the two are left with all the work. The dustbins aren’t cleaned, and there’s garbage all around in hostels and school buildings,” Ranvijay added.
“On day one of the strike, when mess workers had also joined, only Dal Chawal was served in the hostel mess. Later, mess workers had returned to work. The sanitation workers are still agitating. The hostel washrooms are stinking badly; there’s garbage all around,” said a resident of Mahi Mandavi Hostel, Pravin K Piyush.
“There are 22 staff–14 contractual and 8 permanent. But the permanent ones also work in shifts. Workers' demands are genuine; the administration should resolve it at the earliest,” Piyush added.
JNU administration's response
Meanwhile, the university administration stated that it has taken appropriate steps in accordance with the ongoing conciliation proceedings before the Regional Labour Commissioner, New Delhi, concerning the grievances of outsourced workers.
“The university is committed to resolve outsourced workers-related grievances with a positive intent and amicably in the interests of all stakeholders through dialogue and discussion. The hostel messes of the university are functioning smoothly with sufficient workers,” an official from the administration stated.
The demands
37-year-old Sanjeev Vaid, who has been working in JNU for the last two decades, said there’s a stark difference between the salary of contractual and permanent sanitation workers.
“While we get around ₹21,000 on a monthly basis, the permanent staff gets around ₹60-70,000. There’s already such a huge difference, then on top of that there’s one festival in a year, and we don’t even get a bonus for it,” said Vaid.
“Whenever we approach the university administration, they direct us to the contractor, while the contractor sends us back to the administration,” he added.
Surya Prakash, PhD scholar at JNU in informal sector and labour studies, involved in the negotiation process, said two demands–paid leave (casual and earned leave) and the formation of a grievance redressal cell have been accepted, but the Diwali bonus for 2026 and an increase in workforce still remain unaddressed.
“Around four rounds of negotiations have taken place with the labour commissioner, administration, and contractor. Two key demands remain unfulfilled,” said Prakash.
