PATNA, Aug. 7 -- The indefinite strike called by daily-wage municipal sanitation workers ended on Thursday following a consensus between top representatives of state urban development and housing department (UDHD) and the Sanitation Workers Joint Action Committee. After staying away from work for a week, sanitation workers will resume work from Friday and garbage heaps should be gone from across the state by the end of this week, officials said. Three fundamental demands that form the core of the consensus include service security, direct wage transfer, and provision of paid leave. Under the newly achieved arrangement, daily wagers will now be eligible for benefits including paid leave, gratuity and provisions for post-retirement pension. These benefits were previously reserved for permanent staff. The breakthrough comes after multiple brainstorming sessions held at different levels within and outside UDHD. Additionally, to add transparency and curtail worker exploitation, wages will now be transferred directly into the respective bank accounts of outsourced municipal sanitation workers. They are further set to receive annual bonus payouts for the very first time -- a key provision that was previously denied. State UDHD minister Nitish Mishra reaffirmed the state government's commitment to the sanitation workers. While core demands have summarily been accepted, an empowered committee has been constituted to look into the remaining grievances of the outsourced sanitation personnel, Mishra said. Mishra said, "The decisions made today will apply to workers of all urban local bodies within the state as all the protesting outfits had common demands. The committee has been instructed to fully redress all demands made by the sanitation workers so that they don't need to strike in the future." The findings of the committee concerned will drive future action, Mishra added. Meanwhile, Patna Mayor Sita Sahu told Hindustan Times that the absence of sanitation workers had crippled the functioning of the municipal corporation and the resolution has brought relief. "After reaching a consensus between the protesters and the state government, the outsourced municipal sanitation workers will return to work on Friday and we expect the municipal corporation area to be garbage-free by the end of this week," she said. Chandra Prakash Singh, president of Patna Municipal Corporation Employees Joint Coordination Committee, said the state appeared committed to outsourced workers' welfare this time. Steps were underway to align their broader service terms with those of their regular counterparts, he added. Notably, a 12-member empowered committee was constituted by the state under UDHD secretary Animesh Parashar on June 24 to look into the demands of municipal sanitation workers to ensure smooth functioning of urban local bodies....