Govt. trying to outsource moon meal scheme, says association

The State government has been attempting to privatise noon-meal scheme by employing workers with a monthly honorarium of ₹3,000 as against the present special time-scale pay, according to Tamil Nadu Noon-Meal Workers’ Association

The State government has been attempting to outsource noon-meal scheme by employing workers with a monthly honorarium of ₹3,000 as against the present special time-scale pay, according to Tamil Nadu Noon-Meal Workers’ Association.

Around 500 noon meal scheme workers went on a hunger strike on the Virudhunagar Collectorate premises pressing for a charter of demands, including filling increasing number of vacancies of organiser, cook, and assistants.

“The last time recruitment was made in the noon meal scheme was in 2017. Since then several workers have retired and the vacancies have not been filled,” said association’s Virudhunagar district secretary A. Suthanthira Clara.

She said the workers who were under special time-scale pay have been demanding to include them in the regular time-scale pay. With an intention to subvert their demand, the government has been recruiting noon meal workers with a monthly honorarium of ₹3,000.

“A regular employee will get about ₹7,000 a month along with other benefits, including health insurance and medical allowance. Besides, they will get increment. But with ₹3,000 fixed wages, the workers will not get other benefits,” she added.

With some 500 vacancies of organiser, cook and assistant lying vacant in Virudhunagar district, the workers had to shoulder the burden of more than two noon-meal centres. The government has stipulated that all three posts of organiser, cook, and assistant should be deployed in centres with more than 300 children. “But, several centres are functioning with just a cook or an organiser,” she pointed out.

The noon-meal workers were being given a fixed pension of ₹2,000 a month, which the association wanted to be raised.