The Hindu : Karnataka News : Their protest is ‘frivolous'

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Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Their protest is ‘frivolous'

Staff Reporter

Lose your jobs, if you continue protest, says official

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Seething:Anganwadi workers from across the State, staging a protest demanding higher wages, were miffed by an official's reaction in Bangalore on Tuesday.

BANGALORE: Tempers soared amidst high drama at a protest staged by anganwadi workers here on Tuesday when senior officials of the Women and Child Development Department threatened the agitators with dire consequences.

The protest, which started off on a subdued note with agitators demanding better wages and employment benefits, soon deteriorated into a shouting match between the department's Deputy Director for Bangalore Rural and some of the agitators.

Trouble began when the official started taking down names of the agitators and told them that they would be immediately dismissed from service.

He told the agitators, who had come from several parts of the State, that they were causing inconvenience to the people of Bangalore by staging a protest.

Irked by this, the leaders of the protest, who were from the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), took on the official and threatened to stage an indefinite fast in front of Minister for Women and Child Development C.C. Patil.

The agitators finally met Mr. Patil, who is said to have told the agitators that he had passed an order preventing protests on frivolous grounds. AIUTUC president K. Somashekhara, who was part of the delegation that met Mr. Patil, said, “Only the anganwadi workers know the pain they are going through. How can he decide what is frivolous and what is not?”

They also submitted a memorandum to Mr. Patil demanding higher wages, in which they pointed out that anganwadi workers in Puducherry get Rs. 12,000 a month while those in the State only get Rs. 2,500. Anganwadi helpers in Puducherry get Rs. 8,000 whereas helpers here get only Rs. 1,500, the memorandum said.

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