SC, ST, and OBC workers accounted for 36.75 per cent, 8.18 per cent and 21.15 per cent of the safai karamcharis, respectively. (Source: Express Archives)Workers from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) accounted for 66 per cent of the sanitation workers employed by 80 Union ministries or departments in 2024, while the same groups made up 40 per cent of Group A and 46 per cent of Group B employees, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) annual report for 2024-2025 shows. The report shows that while SC, ST and OBC employees accounted for 52 per cent of the total 32.52 lakh employees, they accounted for 66 per cent of the 40,737 safai karamcharis or sanitation workers in Group C posts in the 80 ministries/departments covered. SC, ST, and OBC workers accounted for 36.75 per cent, 8.18 per cent and 21.15 per cent of the safai karamcharis, respectively. In the case of other Group C posts, apart from safai karamcharis, SC, ST and OBC employees made up 53 per cent of the total.