Midday meal workers of Akshara Dasoha have decided to go on an indefinite strike from December 26 demanding a hike in wages and other benefits. They will not be cooking midday meals in schools during the protest.
M.B. Pushpa, district president of Hassan district unit of Karnataka Rajya Akshara Dasoha Nowkarara Sangha, at a press conference in Hassan on Friday, said the workers had been working for more than six hours a day with meagre wages. There had been no hike in wages for the last 10 years. “We are demanding that the government provide a minimum wage of ₹21,000 a month, besides other benefits,” he said.
He said the school development and management committees (SDMC) force workers to do additional work. Those who refused to take up works other than cooking are asked to leave. “In some places, school staff force the workers to cook whenever special programmes are held. Similarly, they are forced to join school study trips and cook food in different places, without extra payment,” she said. The workers have to report before teachers as they have to prepare milk for schoolchildren.
