2000 workers of the Food Corporation of India, the government agency that stores and distributes grains all over India for the country’s subsidized public distribution system, are striking against the management.
2000 workers of the Food Corporation of India, the government agency that stores and distributes grains all over India for the country’s subsidized public distribution system, are striking against the management.
They are the workers engaged in loading, unloading, stacking, cleaning and sweeping in the godowns and depots of the food agency. About two weeks ago they added a relay hunger strike—where each person takes it in turn to fast for a day. Their demand: higher wages and permanent status. Right now they are hired through contractors and have no job security or benefits, and earn between 5,000 rupees to 10,000 rupees for a month’s work. The workers find it unacceptable that while they are engaged in feeding the whole country, their families have to go hungry.
The workers are angry at the colossal wastage of foodgrains by the management, which is resulting in loss of hundreds of crores of rupees. They have threatened that the agitation will spread across the country, and involve all 80,000 workers, if their demands are not met.