Kalaburagi: All India Trade Union Congress seeks revision of wages for midday meal workers
All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) State president Avargere Chandru on Saturday (July 18) urged the State government to revise the wages of workers engaged
All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) State president Avargere Chandru on Saturday (July 18) urged the State government to revise the wages of workers engaged under the Midday Meal Scheme and extend to them the benefits available to regular labourers. Addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi city, Mr. Chandru said head cooks and assistant cooks working under the scheme should be recognised as labourers instead of scheme workers and paid statutory minimum wages.
At present, head cooks receive a monthly honorarium of ₹4,700, while assistant cooks are paid ₹4,600, he said. He also demanded that workers retiring from service be provided a lump-sum retirement benefit. Chandru urged the government to appoint additional cooks in schools with higher student enrolment, stating that the existing norm of two cooks for schools with up to 100 students had increased the workload on employees.
He also alleged that wages were not being disbursed regularly, claiming that workers were often paid only once in three to four months instead of receiving their remuneration by the fifth of every month. Seeking social security measures for the workers, he demanded compensation of ₹20 lakh and a government job for an eligible family member in the event of the death of a midday meal worker while in service.
Chandru also alleged that cooks were facing harassment from School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) chairpersons in the operation of bank accounts. To address the issue, he urged the government to authorise joint account operations by head cooks and headmasters instead. He called on the State government to address the long-pending demands of midday meal workers.
The BriefWire