Midday Meal Workers Threaten to Boycott Election Duties Over Unpaid Wages
At a meeting in Basantpur on Sunday, midday meal workers, who serve food in state-owned schools, voiced their outrage over wage discrepancies. Under the banner of CITU Shimla district, the workers vowed to intensify their struggle for fair treatment.
Union leaders, including treasurer Balak Ram, president Pushpa Sharma, general secretary Sheela Devi, and treasurer Champa Devi, addressed the assembly. They highlighted the dire situation of workers who haven’t been paid for the past two months.
Balak Ram warned that without prompt payment, workers would strike and boycott election duties. The workers are demanding a monthly salary of Rs. 7000, akin to their counterparts in Haryana.
They praised the Himachal High Court’s ruling mandating a 12-month salary, celebrating it as a hard-won victory after 15 years of legal battles.
The union also called for improved working conditions, such as 12 to 20 holidays similar to those in Punjab’s Mid Day Meal and Anganwadi schemes, provision of two uniforms annually, and priority in multi-task recruitment.
They demanded additional pay for extra work, reassignment to other schools if their current ones close, removal of the 25-student requirement for job security, and a prohibition on being tasked with cooking for polling parties during elections.
Additionally, the union insisted that every school employ at least two midday meal workers, who should be regularized and given labor status as per the 45th Indian Labour Conference recommendations.
The speakers criticized the Modi administration for failing to implement measures to improve worker status, pensions, gratuity, and health benefits. They accused the government of planning to privatize the Mid Day Meal Scheme, as evidenced by ongoing budget cuts and its renaming to Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Yojana.
