Ahead of the State Budget, scheduled to be presented on March 8, thousands of anganwadi workers and employees of road transport corporations held rallies and protests in Bengaluru on Tuesday seeking a pay hike. Both groups demanded that they be treated on a par with government employees of their equivalent cadre and be made eligible for benefits such as health insurance and pension schemes.
At present, following a hike in honorarium in 2019, anganwadi workers get ₹10,000 while helpers get ₹5,000 a month. The Karnataka State United Anganwadi Workers’ Union has demanded that they be treated on a par with Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees, or until that happens be given equal pay for equal work — ₹25,000 for workers and ₹21,000 for helpers. “The LPG cylinder price has shot up and the cost of living has gone up immensely even as our pay remains the same,” Rama T.C., a union member, said.
Peddappaiah, Commissioner of the Department of Women and Child Development, who visited the protesters, said the government was considering the demand for a pay hike based on seniority for anganwadi workers. A meeting with Women and Child Development Minister Shashikala Jolle is scheduled for Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Karnataka State Road Transport Employees’ League, which had protested for four days in December 2020 and procured a written commitment from the State government to fulfil nine demands, alleged that none of their demands have been met yet. Services remained unaffected.
“The government expressed difficulty in taking all of us on its rolls, but had promised to implement the Sixth Pay Commission in three months. The deadline ends on March 15. We demand that the State Budget make an announcement in this regard,” said K. Thippeswamy, general secretary of the league.
Sources in the KSRTC said RTCs had already held three meetings on pay revision and it was a cumbersome process which could not be hurried. KSRTC officials added that they had already fulfilled six other demands — something the employees dispute.
The league has threatened to go on an indefinite strike from March 15 if the members’ demands are not met.
LPG price hike
The women’s wing of KPCC staged a protest against the hike in price of LPG cooking gas cylinders. The price of a cylinder has shot up by over ₹100 in the last month alone, now sitting at ₹822.
