SHILLONG, Aug 29: The members of the All Jaintia Mid-Day Meal Workers’ Union, Jowai (AJMDMWU) on Monday began their indefinite sit-in near the office of the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE) at Lower Lachumiere in protest against the government’s failure to increase their monthly honorarium from the current Rs 1,000.
The members of the union had initially assembled at the parking lot of the additional secretariat. But the district administration shifted them to the premises of the board’s office.
The union’s Laskein block unit president, Phiyoolis Syngkon said Rs 1,000 per month is too meagre an amount considering the number of hours that the mid-day meal workers have to work to prepare food for the children.
She said they want the government to enhance their monthly honorarium to Rs 5,000.
Syngkon said the workers receive Rs 900 of the Rs 1,000 from the central government and Rs 100 from the state government.
“We have also demanded that the honorarium be released within the tenth of every month and LPG cylinders be provided to all PM Poshan kitchens in schools,” she said.
She also said most of the cooks preparing nutritional and hygienic foods for the students in various schools are single mothers. “It has become extremely difficult for them to take care of their families with the meagre amount,” she added.
AJMDMWU adviser, KL Pariat said Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is yet to call them for a dialogue to discuss their demands despite the submission of six memorandums to him.
The AJMDMWU had earlier threatened to boycott the upcoming elections if their demands are not met.
