Unpaid wages force WASA worker to commit suicide in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: A contractual staff member of the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) took his life on Wednesday after failing to address financial needs of his family.

The 41-year-old was working for Wasa on daily wages and was recently transferred to a pumping station in Latifabad Unit-10.

Distressed with worsening financial situation, he reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself to the roof of a room in his residence, according to police officials investigating the matter.

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The deceased worker is survived by a wife, two sons and a daughter.

The Employees Union of Hyderabad Development Authority, the parent organisation of Wasa, claimed that around 1,300 permanent and 900 contractual workers of Wasa had not been paid for months.

It said the union officials had also staged protests earlier this month and set up hunger camps in a bid to register their protest for unpaid wages.

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The federal government, in the budget 2016-17, had set the minimum wage as Rs14,000 per month. However, not all government departments implemented it at the centre and provincial levels, leaving many poverty-stricken employees to work in long shifts while struggling with financial issues.