Dhubri district unit of Midday meal workers protest against government’s move

A Correspondent

DHUBRI: Hundreds of cooks and helpers engaged in preparing midday meal in schools registered strong protest under the banner of Dhubri district unit of All Assam Midday Meal Workers’ Union, backed by CITU, against handing over the contract of supplying cooked meal to NGOs, at Rupshi of Dhubri district on Thursday.

Union leaders alleged that workers were underpaid as only Rs. 1000 was being paid to cook-cum-helper per month, that too for 11 months in a year.

“In the State, nearly 1.75 lakh cook-cum-helpers are engaged by the government to prepare midday meals in schools, but the union has been demanding a minimum wages of Rs. 18,000 for them for quite a long time. Instead of conceding to the demand, the government now moves to displace these workers by handing over the supply of cooked midday meal to NGOs, which is utterly an injustice,” rued a veteran trade union leader, Joy Prakash Mazumdar. He threatened to intensify the movement if the government did not roll back its decision to make NGOs supply midday meal and pay minimum wages to cook-cum-helpers.

On the other hand, Dhubri district unit SUCI staged sit-in in support of their six-point demand in front of Dhubri Deputy Commissioner’s office and submitted memorandum to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal through the Dhubri Deputy Commissioner.

The six-point charter of demands include construction of proposed road-cum-embankment from Dhubri Parghat (Dhubri Zila Parishad point) to Gauripur, construction of dilapidated roads, drains and outlets of Dhubri town in a scientific manner, stopping frequent load shedding, supply of LPG cylinders at the door of consumers and managing and mitigating traffic congestion at Happy Convent School on Guru Teg Bahadur Road.

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