Salaries to school watchmen, sanitary workers demanded

Vijayawada: CITU NTR district vice-president NCH Supraja and CITU district leader M Someswara Rao on Friday submitted a petition to NTR District Education Officer MV Subbarao, demanding payment of salaries to watchmen and sanitary workers of government schools.

The DEO stated that pending three months’ salaries for night watchmen and school ayahs would be disbursed within two days.

Later addressing the media, CITU leaders Supraja and Someswara Rao stated that they urged that school sanitation workers across NTR district should be continued in their jobs as usual, asserting that removing ayahs under the guise of government regulations is unjust. They highlighted that even the meagre wages provided are pending for months, and minimum wages are not being implemented. They demanded that the State government increase the salaries of school ayahs in line with rising prices. They also strongly opposed the government’s new rule mandating one ayah for every 300 students, which would leave hundreds of ayahs jobless, demanding its removal.

The leaders further demanded that the government extend ESI and PF facilities to these workers and provide them with identity cards and uniforms. They urged the coalition government to resolve the issues faced by sanitation workers in schools, increase their salaries, and stressed that unjustly removing ayahs without cause is unacceptable.