1,500 Delhi school sanitation workers unpaid for 5 months

New Delhi: Even as the Delhi government promotes its cleanliness campaigns, nearly 1,500 sanitation workers deployed across 250 government schools have reportedly gone without salaries for the past five months, according to a media report.

The matter was flagged by senior advocate Ashok Agarwal, who has written to the Directorate of Education urging urgent action. In his letter, he stated that the workers, employed through outsourcing agency Orion Security Solutions Pvt. Ltd., have not been paid since April 2025.

“For the last five months, these sanitation workers have not been paid their due salaries. It is most unfortunate that these employees, who already belong to a very low-income group and live hand-to-mouth, are being subjected to such inhuman treatment,” Agarwal noted in his representation. He described the situation as both “illegal and unjustified,” pointing out that denial of wages violated constitutional guarantees under Articles 21 and 23, as well as several labour laws.

The sanitation staff, many of whom come from economically vulnerable families, are responsible for daily cleaning and upkeep of government schools. The delay, Agarwal warned, is causing severe financial distress. “The denial of timely wages is causing immense hardship to workers and their families, who are struggling to meet basic needs,” he wrote.

A sanitation worker at a government school in South Delhi shared his ordeal. “I have borrowed money from relatives just to pay rent and buy food. We are still going to work every day, but without salary it feels like we are being punished for doing our duty,” he said.