Hidden labour: Library workers protest for recognition, fair wages

Bengaluru

Bengaluru's dedicated library staff, some with 30+ years of service, protest against being underpaid "cess workers" and demand full employee benefits

Library workers from the state library in the city, some with over 30 years of service, staged a protest today at Freedom Park, organised by the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU). "They are demanding an end to their classification as "cess workers" and full recognition as regular government employees, which would guarantee them essential benefits like minimum wage, bonuses, gratuity, and various types of leave, including maternity leave.

 "These library workers are not recognised by the government as regular employees; instead, they are categorised ascess workers' and are not assured of anything, including minimum wages," stated a lawyer participating in the protest.

"This is a fight to be recognised and to remind the authorities that as workers, they are entitled to all the benefits of regular employees." Gayathri, a leader of the AICCTU's Library Karmikas, highlighted the severe underpayment faced by these workers.

"We were paid just Rs. 6,000 before, but after our protest, they increased it to Rs. 14,500," she told News Trail. Adding to their grievances, many of these workers, despite being hired under the guise of "cleaning staff," perform a wide range of essential duties for up to eight hours a day, far exceeding the reported two hours.

"The officers report to the government that we work only for two hours, but we are made to work for eight hours a day," Gayathri explained. "While we are hired for cleaning, we issue books, manage memberships, enter magazines, and perform many other tasks from the moment the library opens."

The union represents both literate and illiterate workers, many of whom now perform multiple essential tasks in these libraries. Their demand is simple: to be recognised for the full scope of their labour and granted the rights they deserve.