Mid-Day Meal workers plan protest on July 11
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 02 2021: Mid-day Meal workers are all set to organise a sit-in protest on July 11 to demand the government stop treating them as forced labourers and to provide adequate and timely remuneration while recognising their contributions.

A statement of All Manipur Midday Meal Workers' Union demanded the government to vaccinate them on priority basis, provide 10 kg of rice per head to families of all workers and to review the move to scrap the Midday Meal scheme.

It opposed privatisation of the scheme and demanded the government to provide Rs 24,000 remuneration per month for them and protect their jobs.

Other demands include coverage of children of migrant labourers under the scheme, provide adequate nutritious foods, abolish the four labour code & three farm laws, while opposing privatisation of PSUs and education sector.

Though schools are closed during the pandemic, the workers are delivering food to the children at their homes.

Before the pandemic, the workers have been helping teachers and other staff of the schools in every way but they are treated as if they are forced labourers by using them in every possible work including cleaning schools, attending garden and other construction activities.

In some schools, workers are removed due to low student strength.

Despite all these, they are not getting their monthly remuneration regularly and the government is not increasing their remunerations till date, the statement said.

The government is planning to shut down schools with fewer students and it will affect students from poor families and the mid-day meal workers' job.

Besides, the proposal for direct transfer of fund for nutritious meal to the bank accounts of the parents is akin to dissolving the scheme as there are possibilities of parents not being able to buy nutritious foods for their children due to various reasons.

Maintaining that job security of around 7000 mid-day meal workers of the state is at stake, the statement appealed to all the midday meal workers of the state to join the protest on July 11 .

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