ASHA, Anganwadi and Mid-Day Meal Workers, Banks join Nationwide strike

Mysuru:  Condemning anti-labour policies and steps being taken to privatise Railways and LIC among others by the Centre, hundreds of members of Labour Unions, following a Nationwide protest call given by various organisations, staged protests at various places in city this morning.

At Town Hall: ASHA, Anganwadi and Mid-Day Meal Workers, numbering more than 300 and under the banners of AIDSO, AIUTUC and Scheme Workers Federation of India (SWFI), staged a protest urging the Government for fulfilment of  their various demands.

The demands include considering ASHA, Anganwadi and Mid-Day Meal workers as Government employees and fix Rs. 21,000 salaries to those who are working as daily wagers, contract and outsource employees by making them permanent; Rolling back National Education Policy (NEP) as it would render the closure of Anganwadi Centres and making Anganwadi workers jobless; Stopping the proposed privatisation of Railways, BSNL, Banks, LIC, Public Sector Undertakings etc.

The demands also included to take back laws which are against labourers, farmers etc.; To provide salaries for a minimum of 200 days under Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Scheme in rural places, which should be extended to urban places; Transfer of Rs. 7,500 to the families who are outside income tax limits and provide 10 kg rice to the needy every month and pension to all among other demands. 

Similar protests were held at BSNL Office in Jayalakshmipuram, Vinyas Technologies at Vijayanagar, JK Tyre at Metagalli, South Western Railways Divisional Office and at Canara Bank Regional Office in Nazarbad. Labour Union leaders Jagannath, Sheshadri, Jayaramu, Sandhya, Seema, Varalakshmi and others led the protest.