Ludhiana: Mid-day meal workers dissatisfied with edu dept’s guidelines

In the wake of the recent accident at the government school in Machhiwara Kham village where a mid-day meal worker died while working in the school’s kitchen, the education department issued guidelines intended for the safety of these workers, but the workers still remain disconcerted over the demands unmet.

Mid-day meal workers union’s district president Parveen Kumari expressing her dissatisfaction said, “These provisions are entirely vague and are of no help to us. Many of our workers already have Ayushman Bharat cards, what we need is insurance which is not being provided to us by the government.”

The department concerned has issued instructions to the schools and mid-day meal workers for their safety, including the issuance of Ayushman Bharat cards, training for the usage of fire extinguishers and timely servicing of regulators and gas cylinders. These workers have also been instructed to wear cotton clothes only with their dupattas tied to avoid any accidents in the kitchen.

“We usually wear clothes of mixed fabric as it is more economical as compared to pure cotton clothes. We cannot spend much on our clothing and if the department wants us to wear cotton clothes only, then they must provide us with a uniform of whichever fabric according to them is suitable to work in the kitchen,” said a mid-day meal worker.

A block primary education officer, stressing the need for salary increment for these workers, said, “Along with the Ayushman Cards, there must be insurance for them up to ₹2 lakh at least, but as of now, they are only paid ₹3,000 a month, which is why their salary must be increased so that at least they can themselves pay for their insurance if government cannot.”

Another incident took place here on Tuesday where a mid-day meal worker at SDP Senior Secondary School, Basti Jodhewal, had a narrow escape when the pressure cooker exploded in the kitchen. The workers of the school alleged that the principal of the school paid no heed to their complaints of poor condition of the cooking utensils.

Manoj Kumar, deputy district education officer (Elementary), said, “We are aware of the issues faced by the workers, which is why our department is trying its best to address these. We have also managed to arrange ₹4 lakh for the family of Manjit Kaur, who died at Machhiwara Kham, but the decision to provide these workers with insurance is still under discussion.” He further added that for now, there is no such consideration of providing a uniform to mid-day meal workers.