Tanveer Hussain
Budgam, Aug 4: Scores of mid-day meal cooks and contingent-paid workers under the School Education Department staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Budgam on Monday, demanding regularization of services, minimum wages, and timely disbursal of salaries.
Holding placards and raising slogans, the protesting workers decried what they called the government’s continued indifference towards their plight. Most of these cooks, primarily women, have been serving in government schools for over a decade, preparing meals for children under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, but themselves surviving on a meagre ₹1,000 monthly honorarium.
“This is not the first time we’ve protested,” said one of the demonstrators. “We feed children every day, but our own homes are starving. How can one survive on ₹1,000 a month in today’s economy?”
The workers demanded regularized salaries aligned with minimum wage laws, which would ensure a monthly income of at least ₹8,000 to ₹10,000. Many also sought permanent status under government schemes, highlighting that some had even donated land for school construction in hopes of job security.
In addition to wage issues, the protesters highlighted the lack of social security. “We get no health cover, no leave, no pension. We are invisible to the system,” said another protester.
They urged the administration to include them in welfare schemes, health insurance policies, and pension benefits. Several protestors warned that if their long-pending demands continue to be ignored, they will be forced to intensify the agitation across districts. [KNT]
