Patiala (Manpreet Singh):- The organisation representing mid-day meal workers, sanitation workers and chowkidars (watchmen) in government schools has submitted reminder letters to the District Education Officer (Secondary Education) and the District Education Officer (Primary Education), Patiala, seeking an immediate meeting to resolve their legitimate demands.
Representatives of the organisation said that after holding a rally on March 20, a memorandum outlining the workers’ demands had been submitted to the officials. Since then, reminders have been submitted several times, requesting a meeting. However, neither a satisfactory response nor a meeting date has been provided so far, leading to disappointment among the workers.
The organisation demanded that mid-day meal workers be brought under the minimum wage framework, that the process of regularising their services be initiated, and that they receive the allowances due to them. It also sought compensation, medical assistance and insurance protection in case of accidents while preparing meals.
The organisation also demanded a reasonable increase in the monthly payments of ₹3,000 given to sanitation workers and ₹5,000 given to chowkidars in government schools. It further called for facilities in accordance with minimum wage requirements and labour laws, uniforms, necessary equipment and safety gear for sanitation workers, and a clearly defined scope of their duties.
Other demands included fixing working hours for chowkidars, providing warm overcoats to those assigned night duty during winter, and granting all workers weekly rest days along with winter and summer vacations.
The organisation’s leaders said these workers make an important contribution to the day-to-day functioning of government schools but continue to face a lack of fair remuneration and basic facilities. They appealed to the concerned officials to promptly fix a date and time for the meeting and communicate it in writing so that the demands could be discussed and appropriately resolved.
