Members of the Tamil Nadu Nutritious Noon Meal Employees’ Association protested in various parts of the State on Monday, which also marked the first day of their indefinite strike.
Last week, the workers had staged sit-in protests at various district headquarters, demanding time-scale pay, family pension and retirement benefits.
“We have put forth a five-point appeal to the State government but haven’t been invited for talks so far. Many of our members who carried out protests across the State were arrested in the morning and later released in the evening,” said Noor Jahan, General secretary of the association. Last week, the workers who carried out the protests said that they had ensured availability of a section of the staff to take care of the kitchens and serve food for children.
‘Substitutes called in’
“We were forced to resort to a complete strike from today since our demands were not being heard. In many districts where workers were striking and did not report to work at the centres, workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) were called in to prepare food,” Ms. Noor Jahan added. More employees are expected to join the strike in the coming days.
