Mid-day meal workers to suspend work

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 17

Students across the district will not get any mid-day meal from tomorrow owing to a protest by the workers, who have decided to suspend the service peeved at their long pending demands not being met. Armed with plates and belans (rolling pins) workers of the union shall be taking to the streets tomorrow to raise a voice against their meagre salaries and extra work being taken from cooks in some of the schools.

Activists of the Mid Day Meal Cook Workers and Management Union will be holding a dharna outside the DC office tomorrow and march to the house of Manoranjan Kalia from there with their utensils.

While cooks from across the district will be participating in the protest, the mid-day meal managers from across the state will also participate in the protest tomorrow.

Activists of the union said while the cook workers preparing mid-day meal in schools were being paid way lesser than even the minimum wages, the mid-day meal managers across districts were also getting very meager salaries even though they were held proper qualifications.

Activists have warned that while tomorrow will be the first day of their suspending work in the district, if the government did not pay heed to their demands they will hold bigger protests and take agitation to the other districts also.

Cooks at various schools have also alleged that in schools where mid-day meals are being prepared by NGOs, they were made to do odd jobs like sweeping etc.