Mangaluru
Mid-day meal workers in Mangaluru launched an indefinite dharna on Monday in front of the Mini Vidhana Soudha, demanding that the Union Government increase their wages and implement a fair minimum wage. The protest was organised under the banner of CITU, with workers raising slogans condemning what they described as the Centre’s inhuman treatment of employees who play a crucial role in school nutrition programmes.
Inaugurating the dharna, senior trade union leader J. Balakrishna Shetty said that mid-day meal workers, who are already struggling with extremely low wages and harsh working conditions, cannot survive on the current honorarium of ₹4,500. He criticised the government for showing disrespect under the name of “honorarium” and urged workers to intensify their fight for dignity and fair pay.
CITU Dakshina Kannada district general secretary Sunil Kumar Bajal noted that the mid-day meal scheme was introduced in 2001, but since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, the Centre has gradually reduced its financial contribution. Although official orders describe the work as four hours per day, workers across India put in nearly eight hours daily, he said, adding that successive governments have remained silent on their plight.
District president of the Mid-Day Meal Workers’ Association, Padmavathi Shetty, demanded that the upcoming budget include the implementation of minimum wages, the scheme must not be privatised under any circumstances, and workers should be recognised as permanent government employees with all statutory benefits as recommended by the ILC.
Speakers Jayanta Nayak and Vasudeva Uchchil also addressed the gathering. The protest was led by CITU leaders Yogesh Jappinamogaru, Sundar Kumpala, and several women workers from the mid-day meal workforce.
