Midday meal workers oppose transfer of funds to SDMC
The Hindu
KALABURAGI
Midday meal workers associated with the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) staged a demonstration outside the office of zilla panchayat in Ballari on Wednesday opposing the transfer of funds from the joint account of midday meal workers and teachers to the account of School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC).
The agitating workers said that the midday meal programme was smoothly implemented when the funds allocated to the scheme was drawn from the joint account and the transfer of funds to the account of SDMC president was not just an undemocratic move but a step backward in the implementation of the scheme.
“There was no problem when the teachers and midday meal workers jointly managed the funds and the scheme. We don’t understand why government unnecessarily disturbs the smoothly functioning process. We demand the government to withdraw its decision and restore the previous process,” A. Shanta, State president of Karnataka State Composite Midday Meal Workers’ Association, said during the agitation.
Nagaratna S.G., the representative from Akshara Dasoha Karmikara Sangha, said that there were 1,18,586 midday meal workers in the State who were working for meagre wages which were not paid on a regular basis.
“Midday meal workers are among the sections that are completely neglected by the government. They are working for minimum wages and their wages are not regularly paid. They are finding it difficult to manage their families when the prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing. The strange thing is that they are not getting the minimum wages that the government itself has fixed for scheduled works. The government should understand their problem and come up with constructive programmes to address their issues,” she said demanding to pay the midday meal workers the minimum wages as fixed for the scheduled jobs till their services are regularised.
A memorandum was later submitted to the office of Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer.
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