Several women working on contract in Uttar Pradesh Police ‘Dial 112’ emergency service staged a protest outside its headquarters in Lucknow on Tuesday, demanding a salary hike. Working in Dial 112 through outsourcing, these women are demanding that their salary should be increased from Rs. 11,800 to Rs. 18000. The demonstrators claimed that have been protesting for 24 hours, and not a single official has come out to speak with them. Although the policemen and officials tried to explain, the women kept demanding to call the CEO and responsible people of the company. Women workers also protested outside the office and demanded to be given appointment letters. The protesters allege that instead of giving them appointment letters, new recruitment has also been started.
According to one employee and protestor, Harshita while speaking to PTI said, “We haven’t received an increment and even though we have changed companies they haven’t provided us with an offer letter. We were here through the night and none of them (officials) have come to see us.” Harshita further added that they haven’t been allowed to go to the restroom during the protest, so they had to go in the open while covering themselves. The protesters stated that constables have been hurling abuses at women. The employees say that their current salaries are Rs 11,800, which haven’t increased in seven years. If they had received their increment, it would be around Rs 18,000. The ‘112’ Emergency Response Support System was launched in 2019 by Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. It is a pan-India number meant to provide immediate assistance for services like police (100), fire (101), health (108), women’s safety (1090), and child protection. It is equivalent to ‘911’ in the United States.”
