Udupi: Two sweepers Akku and Leela, working in a Training Center in Udupi since 1971 on a monthly salary of Rs.15 per month only, for their duty of cleaning the premises have not received any increment nor their services as temporary workers were confirmed in b1984 under a Govt. order.
Human Rights Protection Foundation led by Dr. Ravindranath ShanBhag, has been persistently going to the courts and to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), to fight for the rights of Akku and Leela who have retired from services in 2011, and 750 others still working on Rs.15 pm still now like Padma and Elizabeth of Udupi and Mangalore, without a ray of hope to obtained higher salaries that are paid by the state Govt. to monthly paid workers under grade D elsewhere in other departments than that of Education.
Dr. Shanbhag went to the Supreme Court with a petition of Contempt of Court against the state government in 2009 when Supreme Court orders to the state to pay all the arrears for the last 4 decades were violated by the Govt. department for 4 years or more. The Supreme Court issued a final warning against the secretary and other officials of the department of the education either to pay the arrears in full or face imprisonment for contempt of court they had practiced.
The department instead of paying Rs. 27 Lakhs to the true employees as sweepers for 42 years had paid Rs.2.25 lakhs each for only 5 years of services, when the court had ordered their conformation of services since 1984.
The state Govt. now faces legal action against its own department and officials who had with held the balance payments due to Akku and Leela who have each family of a husband and children to look after in 2013.