Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific 30 April 2021 India: Bangalore sanitation workers protest for personal protective equipment Sanitation workers in Bangalore, the Karnataka state capital, protested on Tuesday to demand personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, whilst at work. The sanitation workers, popularly known as pourakarmikas, are frontline employees, daily exposed to possible infection from COVID-19 and its variants. Workers said they were forced to handle dangerous and hazardous medical waste with their bare hands and that many households did not separate their waste. The highly exploited, mainly female employees complained that they do not have access to toilets, sanitisers or canteens during working hours.