U.P.’s Dial 112 helpline employees hold demonstration, demand salary hike

Women working for the Dial 112 department protested outside the headquarters, and demanded to be given appointment letters and salary increments

Contractual women employees of UP ‘Dial 112’ emergency service being detained during a protest on the Lucknow-Sultanpur highway demanding salary increment, in Lucknow Nov. 7, 2023.  | Photo Credit: PTI

Several women employees of Uttar Pradesh’s emergency helpline, Dial 112, held a protest outside the Lucknow headquarters demanding better pay and other benefits on Tuesday.

Some of the protestors were detained when they demanded to meet Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “We have been working for the same salary for the past seven years. We are demanding ₹18,000 In-hand salary, weekly leave, and two paid leaves a month,” said Sonal, one of the protesting employees. Dial 112, helpline is for any immediate assistance from the U.P. police, ambulance, fire and other emergency services in the State.

Opposition leader and the Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav targeted the U.P. government calling the detention of contractual employees as shameful and condemnable.

“This is not a letter expressing the pain of one communication officer from Dial 100 but of all of them. Even before meeting the Chief Minister, the daughters who sat through the bitter cold of the night, and made their demands were taken into custody in the morning. This is the true form of BJP’s ‘Nari Vandan’ (Praise for Women). Shameful, condemnable, unbearable!,” wrote Mr. Yadav on X (formerly Twitter), with a picture of the letter of the employees demands.