Employees working in various government schemes in the state staged a sit-in to demand the resolution of their long pending demands.
Thousands of women and other employees protested with placards in their hands and urged the government to pay a salary of ₹21,000 per month on Friday.
Following the call given by CITU and other unions, workers working in Anganwadi centres, ASHA workers, women working in mid-day meal and other schemes organized dharnas and rallies demanding that the government provide provident fund, employees Provide State Insurance (ESI), Pension and. Other benefits to all the employees working in various state and central government schemes.
Though the employees have been working for the past few years, the government was paying honorarium and not revising salary and not issuing ration cards, saying they were government employees, a worker A. Bhagyavati said.
“A few lakh workers were serving in various government schemes for more than ten years. The government is using their services without paying minimum wages,” said another Anganwadi worker, K.K. Sulochana alleged.
“We expanded our services during the pandemic, and many workers died of coronavirus. But, our services were not recognized and no compensation was given to the COVID victims,” said a woman Ch. Usha, and demanded that they be recognized as frontline warriors and that they be immediately compensated.
The government is utilizing the services of scheme workers for all public outreach programs like child care, pulse polio, literacy development, nutritional food supply for pregnant women and other services. The agitators alleged that thousands of workers were working for many years, but their services were not regularised.
“We request the government to provide job security, health and retirement benefits and pay salaries as per the Minimum Wage Act,” the protesters urged.
The scheme activists staged a sit-in at the divisional revenue officers and other government offices across the state.
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