Mid-day meal workers demand honorarium before Ningol Chakouba

By A Staff Reporter

IMPHAL | Oct 8

The Mid-day Meal Workers’ Union, Manipur today demanded that their nine months pending honorarium be disbursed on or before October 21 as a gift for Ningol Chakouba.

President of the union, Y. Indrani Devi told reporters at Manipur Press Club that their pending honorarium of nine months be given and that it will be taken as gifts for Ningol Chakouba, which is one of the biggest Manipuri festivals.

She said that Manipur is the only state which has not got honorarium and has no increment of wages.

A memorandum was submitted to the chief minister, N. Biren Singh, education minister, Th. Radheshyam and education director on July 31 but have not got any positive response, she said.

Another memorandum was also sent to the prime minister, Narendra Modi on October 6 demanding payment of honorarium and proper treatment of charter of demands submitted to the state government, she added.

Indrani said that a service for just one day ‘Ussop’ (feast) is also Rs. 500 and we get only a meagre amount of Rs.1000 for a month, and that is not fair enough working as a government employee, she lamented.

The memorandum submitted to the state officials also demands for the increment of the pay and to extend workers’ status to the mid-day meal workers, to build proper kitchen set, storage, water facility and others in schools, to cover social security benefits facilities to the workers, implement ESI and PF among others.

The president said that if it is not disbursed by October 21, they will take part in the national dharna which will be carried out on November 9 and 10.