THE indefinite strike by Bihar rasoiyas (mid-day meal workers) which had begun on 7 January 2019 for a 15-point charter of demands, including minimum wages and regularisation, ended on 16 February after the Bihar Government agreed to raising their pay from Rs 1250 to Rs 1500. The organisations involved in the strike - the Bihar Rajya Vidyalaya Rasoiya Sangh (AICCTU), Bihar Rajya Vidyalaya Rasoiya Sangh (AITUC), Bihar Rajya Midday Meal Workers Union (CITU), and Bihar Rajya Madhyanha Bhojan Karmachari Union (AITUC) - declared that while the strike would be called off, the struggle for minimum wages of Rs 18000 a month, regularisation and other basic benefits would continue.
In the course of the strike, Rasoiyas from across Bihar had held a 2-day sit-in (Mahapadav) on 23-24 January under the banner of the Bihar State Rasoiya (Midday Meal) Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti in Patna. On 4 February, a chakra jam (blocking roads and trains) had successfully brought the entire state’s transport systems to a grinding halt.
