The first week of May witnessed the annual election of workers for the Workers’ Samadhan Fund (WSF) Committee. The Committee consists of 4 members, each being a worker at the University.
While a Workers’ Welfare Committee (WWC) already provides funds to workers in need, the WSF brings more agency and transparency to the fund allocation process as it has a direct representation of workers. The Committee's elected members examine fund applications and allocate money to their fellow workers to meet pressing medical, educational, or other urgent needs. The WSF was formed in 2022, owing to a long-standing demand by workers for the creation of a Committee overseeing a more transparent funding process.
The election for the appointment of new representatives takes place annually. This year, Pooja and Anu won seats as female staff representatives, and Johnny and Akesh as representatives of the male staff. All elected representatives belong to the housekeeping department.
The election was conducted on campus by around 8 volunteers of the Democracy Collective, under the guidance of Professor Bittu. The workers’ voting choices were recorded in a Google form with the candidates’ list. Voters were allowed to vote for two female and two male representatives.
Due to the odd shift timings of some departments such as housekeeping, votes were cast and tallied throughout the first week of May, through a simple majority counting system. Most workers voted in a meeting held by the student volunteers, while those unable to attend were given the opportunity to vote later, before the final compilation process began.
Some professors contribute to the fund regularly, and students also frequently crowdsource money. The funds’ account is handled by a student volunteer in the Democracy Collective, who transfers the allocated amount to the worker after receiving approval from the Committee members. The allocation of the fund to an applicant worker is based on their demand and the amount available in the account.
Johnny, the newly elected representative says, “I believe that some staff members require more funds than others. But before WSF, the most needy did not always receive the money. This seemed unfair to me and thus, I wish to rectify this issue through my work in the Committee.”
Pooja, the female representative, noted, “Earlier, we had to go ask individual students for money; this didn’t sit well with everyone. Now, we have a system in place which can help the most needy get funds as quickly as possible.”
The new Committee has officially begun its term. It aims to steadily approve fund requests and streamline the process for submitting a fund application.
“We [workers] are also trying to raise money for the fund now. This will help us in the long run.” Pooja concluded.