Sunil Yadav, the Class IV employee who had to fight for leaves to finish his MPhil from TISS, says he is going to court after the civic body denies him a job in the labour department



Sunil Yadav takes great pride that he has completed two Bachelors degrees, along with an MA and MPhil in labour studies

With four degrees under his belt and a PhD in line, Sunil Yadav (37) is overqualified for his job as a municipal sweeper. In fact, he might even be more educated than the BMC’s top employees. But far from supporting him with better opportunities, his superiors are now trying to teach him a lesson by denying him a job even though he is more than qualified for it, alleged Yadav.

When the 37-year-old saw an advertisement for the post of divisional labour welfare officer, he thought the job would be a good way to reach out to other workers and motivate them to get an education as well. He was once a Std X-fail himself, but became determined to get an education after he understood its value. In fact, he has also inspired many of his peers to go back to school.

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The ad mentioned that the job requirement was a Masters degree in labour studies from either TISS or the Labour Institute, along with two years experience. It was not specified which field the experience should be in. Yadav fit the bill perfectly, with a Masters degree in globalisation and labour studies and an MPhil from TISS for researching the topic ‘female staffers in cleanliness department of municipality’. He counts his 11 years as a sweeper/garbage loader as enough experience to understand labour welfare and is currently also pursuing a PhD in the same field.

Rejected

But Yadav was dismayed when his application was turned down in a letter from the BMC, stating: ‘You are currently working on the post of loader. While doing this job, you have acquired MPhil Degree from the TISS. This certainly is a matter of pride for BMC and we congratulate you for being such an inspiring character. However, you do not have required qualification and experience for the post of divisional labour welfare officer and so your application cannot be considered.’ The letter was signed by his boss, chief engineer Siraj Ansari.

“The response by the authorities is so stupid. On one hand, they appreciate my qualifications and, on the other, they state that I am not qualified for the post. The advertisement for the post was given in 2015, following which I had applied for the job. At first, they denied me, saying that there is a technical glitch. It was only after the National Commission for Safai Karmachari intervened that I was given this response,” said Yadav.

Class barrier

Yadav claimed that this is not the first time that the BMC has tried to block his progress and alleged that he was being punished for breaching the class barrier and inspiring others to do so too. “But, if we move up in life, who will do their cleaning job?” he said.

He is currently a Class IV worker who earns Rs 24,000 per month. If he were to get the post he applied for, it would directly make him a Class II officer with a pay packet upwards of Rs 40,000.

“I am not ashamed of my work or want this new designation just because I have got these degrees. I want to reach out to people from my class and help them understand the importance of education. There are colleagues of mine who are also pursuing education but now everybody is scared after looking at my case. A few are keeping their studies a secret, fearing adverse consequences from the civic authorities,” said Yadav, who now plans to file a petition in the Bombay High Court to fight for equal opportunities and benefits for lower class employees.