MID Day Meal Workers, at the call of the Mid Day Meal Workers’ Federation of India, held a big ‘Padav’ at Parliament Street in New Delhi on November 10-11, 2016, against the move to dismantle the School Mid Day Meal Scheme and for the long pending demands of minimum wages and social security for the 25 lakh mid day meal workers.

Modi led NDA government has in the last two years cut the budget allocation for the MDM scheme by one-third. During the UPA-II government, a written assurance was given twice, to the 45th Indian Labour Conference regarding increasing MDM workers wages by Rs 1000, which has not yet been implemented. They are still surviving on Rs 1000 per month for ten months a year, since 2009!

After the budget cut, efforts are being made to end the jobs of MDM workers by introducing private centralised kitchens. While there is a need to provide food to the children of our country, not once but twice through the MDMS, per head allocation for the meal has been reduced due to price rise. The government, instead of strengthening this scheme, is trying to dismantle it so that the scheme can be handed over to big companies like ISKCON.

It is in this situation to achieve the demands of MDM workers that Mid-day meal Federation of India has decided to organise the Padav.

Major demands:

1. Give 18000 per month as wage to all MDM workers. Give full wages throughout the year.

2. Declare MDM workers as Class IV government employees.

3. Central government should implement wage increase announced by the previous government at the centre immediately.

4. Implement 45th ILC recommendations and provide social security to all the workers.

5. Provide for compensations of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh in cases of

death and injuries in accidents.

6. Stop removing workers from work and reinstate workers already

removed.

7. Immediately stop the contractualisations or handing over of the MDM scheme to the NGO’s and cancel signed contracts.

8. Withdraw anti-workers changes in the labour laws.