The non-permanent employees of Karnataka State Directorate of Child Protection have demanded that the State Government hike their wages, ensure job security and provide other benefits.
The employees spread across the State took out an online campaign on Thursday to attract the attention of the State Government on their demands.
Kantharaj, general secretary of the Association of Non-permanent Employees of the directorate, said the employees had been working for children who require care and protection. They had been instrumental in rescuing hundreds of children from hazardous labour, early marriages and spread awareness among children about their rights.
Despite the COVID-19 scare, they worked hard to stop child marriages. However, the government had not considered their services. Their wages had not been increased for seven years and they were not considered COVID-19 warriors, though they worked on the field amidst children during the pandemic. The wages they were getting at present were less than the minimum wages fixed by the Government. As they had been recruited through outsourcing agencies, they had to depend on middlemen to get salaries regularly. They do not enjoy benefits like health insurance, he said.
The workers across the State joined the protest and put pressure on the Government to fulfil their demands.
