SEEKING REDRESSAL: Members of the Karnataka State Akshara Dasoha Workers' Association taking out a rally in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Bangalore: Mallavva Phakeerappa Hullannavar has visited Bangalore four times in the last two years.

A head cook for the Akshara Dasoha midday meal scheme in a government school in Ron taluk of Dharwad district, she and her colleagues had hoped to convince officials and the Minister concerned to increase their salaries and provide better working conditions on each of their visits. But all in vain.

Ms. Mallavva is in Bangalore again to participate in a strike organised by the Karnataka State Akshara Dasoha Workers' Association (KSADWA).

This time she does not want to go back empty-handed.

"I have told people back home that I will not come back at all if the Government is not willing to listen to my demands. I get Rs. 650 for working from 10 in the morning till late afternoon. Is that fair?" asked Ms. Mallavva, who is among the 2,000-odd women participating in the indefinite strike at Bannappa Park in Bangalore.

Shimaggavva, Ms. Mallavva's helper in the same school, gets Rs. 300 for the same hours of work.

"We cannot complain to anyone in the school because they will immediately threaten to throw us out of the job," she said.

Contract

The 1,20,000 mid-day meal workers of Karnataka, mostly women from poor and Dalit families, are hired on 10-month contract.

Minister for Primary and Secondary Education had promised to make their jobs permanent on their last visit, but nothing has happened since, said Sabira, a head cook in a government Urdu school in Ganjigunta in Sidlagatta taluk of Kolar.

Addressing the rally that started from the Bangalore City Railway Station and culminated at Bannappa Park, T. Leelavati, general secretary of the association, condemned the Government's move to hand over the scheme to non-governmental and religious organisations. While the salaries were now bad, this move would completely deny them jobs, she said. This also amounted to the government trying to wash its hand of the responsibility of providing nutrition to children, she added. Organisations such as the ISKCON, she alleged, used pictures of the underprivileged children to attract foreign funding and invested the money on real estate.

Demands

S. Varalakshmi, association president, said that the strike would continue until their demands — including giving minimum wages to the workers and withdrawing its decision to privatise the midday meal scheme — are met by the Government. The organisation has decided to gherao Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy if he did not meet them by Thursday evening, she said.

The gathering was addressed by Sriram Reddy, CPI(M) MLA from Bagepalli, H.M. Vishwanath, Janata Dal (Secular) MLA from Sakleshpur, K.S. Vimala from Janavadi Mahila Sanghatane and others.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail