SHRC calls for giving safety gear to sanitary workers

Moves district municipal corporations to take necessary measures in this regard

The Sindh Human Rights Commission has called for providing safety gear to sanitary workers, among others, so as to protect them against the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the commission pointed out that while the Sindh government had been providing protective equipment to those fighting the battle against the coronavirus on the frontline, including doctors, paramedics, law enforcement personnel and the members of district administrations and was even distributing masks among public, it had paid little heed to the safety of sanitary workers. According the statement were not provided any of the essential safety and “lifesaving” equipment to protect themselves from the contagion.

The statement cites the World Health Organisation’s guidelines in this regards, which elaborate that maintaining hygiene and sanitation in public spaces plays an important role in curbing the spread of the pandemic. But sanitary workers have not been provided any safety equipment, it points out.

Keeping in view the vulnerability of sanitary workers to contracting the virus, the commission has stressed the need for distributing proper, high-quality protective gear among them and urged the district municipal corporations to take necessary measures in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2020.