Anganwadi workers protest in front of the Delhi Secretariat and demand an increase in fees

Hundreds of Anganwadi workers protested outside the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday to demand increases in their salaries and the status of government employees.

The protesting women also presented a memorandum to the Minister for Women and Children Development in Delhi, Rajendra Pal Gautam.

The minister said he met the Anganwadi workers.

“ They submitted a memorandum of their demands and after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal returns from his Vipassana session, we will have a discussion with him. Your reasonable demands will be discussed, ”Gautam told PTI.

“There are some demands that fall within the purview of the center, such as making them government employees,” he said.

The minister also said the Anganwadi workers’ fee was increased about four years ago, claiming that Delhi pays the highest amount in the country.

However, he said they will look into their request.

The protest took place under the banner of the Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union of Delhi State. Angawadi services fall under the government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) system. Vrushali Shruti, the union’s media officer, said the central and state governments are not doing justice to the interests of Anganwadi workers in Delhi. Anganwadi women workers have long faced many problems, said Shivani Kaul, president of Delhi State’s Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union.

” In almost all projects, workers and assistants have not been paid in full for a long time. Even the rent of many Anganwadi centers is not paid. Adequate safety equipment was not provided for the anganwadi workers who work on the ground floor at significant risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, ”she said. “Despite the hardship of the pandemic, Anganwadi workers have worked hard and played a critical role in containing its further spread. Our fee was last increased in August 2017 after 58 days of strike, ” said Kaul.

In a statement, they said Tuesday’s protest was just a “warning demonstration” and that if demands were not met, workers would be “forced to step up their struggle”.

The Anganwadi workers in their memorandum demanded that the policy of opening “Saheli coordination centers” be withdrawn by the Delhi government because they are doing “forced labor”. “The decision to extend the working days of women workers in Anganwadi without additional pay should be withdrawn immediately,” it said.

In light of rising inflation, the government should increase the fee with immediate effect and ensure a fee of Rs 18,000 and Rs 12,000, respectively, for the worker and assistant, they said.

“All Anganwadi workers and aides should be given the status of government employees and we should be legalized and placed under labor law so that we can have a secure job guarantee,” the memorandum said.

All anganwadi workers and helpers should be issued facilities such as ESI, PF and pension and social security cards, it said.

Anganwadi workers working in Delhi have not received full pay in recent months, protesters claimed.

“Delhi and the central governments should ensure that the fee increases announced by the center and effective from October 1, 2018 (51,000 rupees and 25,500 rupees for the worker and helper for 34 months to August 2021, respectively) are paid promptly,” they said.

They also alleged harassment of Anganwadi workers by MLAs and their employees, saying that campaigning should stop the exploitation of workers immediately.

“Adequate safety precautions should be in place for workers working during the Covid epidemic, and responsibility for proper treatment should be taken by the department in the event that they become infected,” the memorandum said.

(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)