Hyderabad: AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi urged the Centre to increase the honorarium for cook-cum-helpers working under the PM Poshan scheme to at least Rs 3,500 per month from the Rs 1,000 per month for 10 months in a year.
In a letter addressed to Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Owaisi said that the honorarium had not been increased since 2009. Even in the Rs 1,000 that each helper was paid, a deduction of Rs 190 per month was made for the PM Pension Scheme, leaving them with Rs 810. The workers are struggling to meet their basic needs, he said.
Owaisi also demanded paid leave, health insurance and retirement benefits to over 25 lakh cook-cum-helpers, mostly women, who are working under the scheme. The nominal increase will ensure fair compensation to these essential workers of the country’s education system, he said.
