Mid-day meal workers demand remuneration hike

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Primary and Upper Primary Schools Mid-Day Meal Workers' Association has demanded the government to increase their monthly remuneration from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000.

"We have been engaged as mid-day meal workers since 2005. But in the last 15 years, our salaries have been increased by only Rs 500," said the association's working president Jiten Rabha.

The association stressed that the government should provide them with appointment letters and their posts should be regularized. They also underlined that their due remuneration should be released.

"The workers were receiving a monthly remuneration of Rs 1,000 from December 2009. On March 6, 2020, the then Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in his budget speech announced that the remuneration of the workers will be increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. He also said that each worker will receive an advance of Rs 2,500 for the increment amount totalling five months (April 2020 to September 2020, excluding May). However, the money was provided to the workers in instalments of Rs 500 per month. But many workers didn't receive the monthly instalments. Though our remuneration has been increased to Rs 1500, we have not received a single penny from April 2021," said Rabha.

He pointed out that the workers work five to six hours a day to prepare and distribute the meals, and clean the utensils.

"We don't have any social security. If a worker is injured on duty, then there is no provision for financial assistance for treatment," Rabha added.

The association also added that the remuneration should be provided for 12 months instead of 10.

It is to be noted that there are around 1.2 lakh mid-day meal workers in Assam.

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