The community organisers in Kozhikode Corporation organised a mass hunger strike under the aegis of the Asanghatita Meghala Tozhilali Union (AMTU) on the Corporation office premises on Wednesday demanding justice, as they have been working at a meagre salary of Rs.1,500 for the past 15 years.
According to a press release, the community organisers were appointed under the Urban Poverty Alleviation Programme of the Central government and are in charge of creating awareness among Kudumbasree workers on the various schemes such as Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), National Slum Development Programme (NSDP), Urban Wage Employment Programme (UWEP), Agathi-Ashraya projects, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
They head the functions of around 1,500 neighbourhood groups of the Kudumbasree in the Corporation and are also in charge of coordinating the 72 Clean Kerala groups here.
The release said the community organisers were working for a monthly honorarium of Rs.750 since 1999, which was raised to Rs.1,500 in 2001 and it continues till date. The two municipalities in the district had increased their salary in 2011, but the Corporation was yet to notice it. Whenever they demanded a rise in wages, they were sidelined and exempted from taking part in development activities, the release said.
The AMTU stated that the Corporation’s behaviour was inhuman and unjustifiable. The State government had given the complete charge of community organisers to the local bodies. Other Corporations in the State had increased the wages, but the Kozhikode Corporation was turning a blind eye to the plight of these women who had been working day and night to alleviate poverty, the union alleged.
Their demands include increased salary; recognition as Corporation employees; making them permanent appointees; and benefits as per the labour laws.
