New Delhi: The housekeeping staff at the Ashoka University has sustained on a meagre hike of Rs 2,000 for nearly a decade. With demands of a hike not being met, they are now on an indefinite protest outside the campus gate. Average monthly salaries here range between Rs 12,000 and Rs 13,000.
Around 60 people from the housekeeping department gathered outside the gate of Ashoka University Thursday, around 6 am. The workers have two demands: a salary increase to Rs 18,000 per month and a promise of a subsequent annual hike of 10 per cent.
The workers also demand that the three women employees removed in May for allegedly stealing from hostel rooms be taken back.
The protest is also supported by the student body, the Ashoka University Student Government.
“The strike is not just a call to meet immediate demands, but also an urgent appeal to address larger issues of surveillance, exploitation, and injustice faced by them on campus. We will continue to support their demands until they are addressed,” read the statement from the student body.
More than 40 students slept with the workers on the road.
Hike request
Anguri Pal has been working at Ashoka University for 11 years. Three years ago, her husband met with an accident that left him disabled. All the responsibilities fell on Pal’s shoulders.
She was hired in 2014 at a salary of Rs 7,000. Since then, her salary has increased to only Rs 12,000. “It is difficult for me to manage the expenses at home; I have to take care of my two children and my husband,” Pal told ThePrint.
The housekeeping staff at Ashoka University are hired from a third–party contractor, Bluspring Enterprise, an infrastructure management company. Salaries of these employees are paid by Bluspring.
“The terms of engagement are managed by the respective companies, and Ashoka University has no role in their decisions,” the university said in its statement.
Jitender Singh Kataria, one of the housekeeping workers, said that Bluspring management tried to stop them from protesting, even threatening to terminate their contracts.
“On Sunday, Bluspring people threatened us, asking us not to hold any protests. But we were planning no such protests at the time,” Kataria said.
Until last year, Bluspring was a part of Quess Corporation. The corporation was divided into three listed companies: the original Quess Corp, Digitide Solutions, and Bluspring Enterprise in 2024. Two of the founders of the university, Ashish Dhawan and Ajit Isaac, have shares in the Quess group.
“We have been asking them [for a raise] since the past five years, but there was no response. We were pushed to do this,” he added.
ThePrint has reached out to Bluspring but is yet to receive a response.
Three employees, Kiran, Rita and Raveena Ahirwar, were fired after they were framed for stealing. Kiran and Rita were asked to deep clean a room, and the duo assumed the room had been vacated. So they cleared out the room, taking out all the items, including clothes, a speaker, and a sling bag.
“Kiran thought she could take the clothes for her daughter,” said Rita. “She did not know that this was going to land her in a mess.”
Raveena also faced action after a similar incident in a different hostel.
Despite apologies, the Bluspring management refused to take the three women back.
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Day and night protest
When the workers started protesting Thursday morning, they were stopped and heckled by the college administration. Some were taken in cars inside the campus, alleged Kataria.
“It’s been five years that we have been asking the people to provide us with a little bit of a hike. What we received was Rs 200-300,” said Kataria. “Is that enough in today’s world?”
It is the second day, and the protest continues at the university gate. The workers are taking turns to use the bathroom and finish their chores. But no one is leaving the protest site.
“We have protested all night long; we will continue this,” Kataria said.
Anguri Pal summed up the plight of the workers.
“We go to Bluspring, they send us back saying, we have put the request with the university, and when we request the university management, they tell us we are not responsible for our salaries,” Pal said.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)