Midday Meal Workers Oppose Akshaya Patra Entry in AP Mandals

The Andhra Pradesh Midday Meal Workers Union, affiliated to Centre of Indian Trade Unions, has urged the district collector to halt the State government’s move to entrust the implementation of the Midday Meal Scheme to the Akshaya Patra Foundation in select mandals of the district.

Union president Bhavani and secretary G. Mangasri, in a representation submitted on Monday, said women belonging to DWCRA groups had been efficiently running the scheme in Padmanabham, Chinagadili and Pendurthi mandals for the past 22 years.

They alleged that the proposed transfer of operations to an external agency would deprive nearly half the existing workers of their livelihood. The union leaders also raised concerns over low remuneration and pending wages.

According to the memorandum, though the foundation supplies cooked meals, local workers are still engaged in boiling eggs and preparing ambali. They alleged that only 10 paise per egg was being paid for the additional work, terming the payment highly inadequate.

The union demanded immediate clearance of salary arrears pending since January and urged the government to bear the cooking gas expenses for the centres to reduce the financial burden on workers.

Ms Bhavani and Ms Mangasri said the move would weaken a decentralised system that had functioned effectively for over two decades and affect the economic security of women workers. They appealed to the district administration to intervene and safeguard the interests of the employees.

The workers warned of intensified protests if the government failed to address the wage arrears and concerns over job security.