Ms. Akku and Ms. Leela were working as sweeper and scavenger in Government Women's Teachers Training Institute, Udupi for a salary of Rs. 15 a month for more than 40 years. They had approached the Supreme Court for justice and the judgement was given in their favour.
Addressing mediapersons at Press Club in Mangalore, Dr. Ravindranath Shanbhag, President, Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi, introduced two more ladies by name Elizabeth and Padma who have been subjected to similar injustice for decades.
Ms. Elizabeth worked in Government Teachers' Training School at Balmatta, Mangalore, for 43 years (from 1964) while Ms. Padma joined Fisheries Junior College in 1970 and worked for 42 years. Both ladies were paid a meager salary of Rs. 15 per month, Mr. Shanbhag said.
After the success in the case of Ms. Akku and Ms. Leela, Ms. Elizabeth and Ms. Padma are also hopeful of receiving justice and have already approached higher ups in the education department to pay their full wages along with interest right from the day of their appointment. But his Foundation has not received any response from government officials about the payment to the ladies, Mr. Shanbhag said.
Mr. Shanbhag added that the ladies are currently receiving zero salary from the institution as they are being considered 'retired'. But the ladies are continuing to work in the institution and no fresh appointment has been made either, he said.
Mr. Shanbhag also said that the government is not making an attempt to pay their full wages. “After winning the case in the Supreme Court, Ms. Akku and Ms. Leela approached B S Yeddyurappa, Former Chief Minister. He told them that it is not possible to pay them the amount. He rejected their plea saying that if payment is made to them, the government will have to pay other such workers too. It was then that I came to know that there are more such workers in the state. There are more than 300 such people in Dakshina Kannada”, he said.
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