2020-08-01 : Workers@iitk Amidst the COVID Lockdown (Hamara Manch Update II): Women Mess Workers

Dear Friends,

This is the second of our updates on the situation of workers associated with IITK during the pandemic. As you know, it is over four months since the disruptions due to lockdowns and related closure of various activities in the campus. As students, regular staff, faculty and administration have been busy coping with contingencies in their own respective domain, we have almost forgotten about those who make the campus habitable every day for us, before the pandemic or even in the present. Hamara Manch has been trying to keep in touch with various kinds of workers amidst all the disruptions in their lives. As we put together their stories and try to verify the information collected to the best of our abilities, we will share these updates with the concerned IITK community.

This second report of the series focuses on the situation of women mess workers. The information presented here is primarily based on three halls which account for 27 women workers, but may be seen to be applicable to the women mess workers across all hostels.The condition of these workers, who have been shouldering the care of their entire families not only in terms of household work, but also, in most cases, financial provisioning, was precarious even before the present crisis.  But the sudden loss of a steady source of income is pushing these women and their families into a downward spiral from which it may be almost impossible for them to emerge.

The report is attached as a pdf file and also included below as part of email text.

Hamara Manch

Attachment: Women mess workers.pdf