Employees of the Malabar Devaswom Board observed Wednesday, the Kerala Piravi day, as black day in protest against the alleged injustices meted out to them. A protest rally bearing black flags was held from Eranhipalam junction in Kozhikode to the civil station demanding the implementation of the revised wages.
The Kerala Temple Employees Coordination Committee alleged that the government has not been able to implement the concept of ‘united Kerala’ even 67 years after the State was formed. They alleged that despite the formation of the Malabar Devaswom Board, the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Act of Madras Presidency was still being followed in temples in North Kerala. The trustees of the temples are still upper class landlords and the wage structure was skewed.
A pay revision was announced in 2019 after years of protest, along with several benefits for the employees on par with government employees. However the employees pointed out the faults in the revised pay scale. The Devaswom Board froze the pay revision citing technical reasons and anomalies in it, which further agitated the employees who are once again on the strike path.
An indefinite strike under the aegis of the Coordination Committee is going on at the Board headquarters in Kozhikode for six months. The State government is planning to enact a comprehensive law for the Malabar Devaswom Board. The plan is to rectify anomalies and implement the recommendations of the pay revision. However, it is yet to be presented in the Legislative Assembly.
The employees alleged that the government had a step motherly attitude towards them as their counterparts under the Travancore and Kochi devaswom boards were treated well.
