Mysore/Mysuru: Urging for fulfilment of various demands in the forthcoming budget, head cooks and cooking assistants of mid-day meal scheme, who are working at Government Schools in the State for the past several years, members of Karnataka State Akshara Dasoha Workers Association, Mysuru District unit staged a protest near Deputy Commissioner’s Office in city yesterday.

 The protestors said that the Budget should include — better pay to lead life, withdrawal of order on transferring of maintenance cost and expenditure of Ksheera Bhagya and Mid-day Meal schemes from the joint account of Head Masters and Cooks to the account of School Development Monitoring Committee (SDMC) President and Head Master.

 Currently, 1,18,586 Mid-day Meal workers are discharging duties for a measly pay under Akshara Dasoha Scheme in the State.  These workers are totally neglected under the Scheme as they are not being paid on time, making it difficult to maintain the family amid rising inflation. Hence it is the responsibility of the Government to give a better pay and it should be announced in the coming Budget, they demanded.

The job of Mid-day Meal workers should be regularised at the place where they have been posted or give the basic pay fixed by State Labour Department, till the services of head cook and cooking assistants are regularised. The facilities like- monthly salary, EPF and ESI fixed for schedule jobs should be extended to them.  The salary should be paid within fifth of every month and pay slip should be issued, the protesters demanded.

AITUC District Secretary Chandrashekar Meti, State Secretary P.S. Sandhya, Shanthamma,Lakshmi Jayapura, Rajeshwari, Sowmya Varakod, Shivamma, Rajeshwari, Gayathri, and others took part in the protest.