AIDWA strongly supports the struggle of Anganwadi workers and helpers in Haryana and Delhi

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) strongly supports the struggle of Anganwadi workers and helpers going on in Haryana and Delhi for the last two months. It demands that the struggling workers’ demands be immediately accepted by the concerned state governments. 

The Anganwadi workers and helpers in Haryana are on strike since December 8, 2021. Thousands of them are in a day and night continuous dharna in Karnal which is the Vidhan Sabha constituency of the Chief Minister. In Delhi too thousands of Anganwadi workers and helpers are on strike. 

They are demanding the immediate implementation of Rs 1500 increase in wages of workers and Rs 750 for helpers as announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2018. This has not been implemented even after three and a half years. 

After a prolonged struggle in Haryana in 2019, CM Manohar Lal Khattar had announced in the State Assembly that Anganwadi workers and helpers will be given the status of skilled and unskilled workers respectively. But now the CM is shamelessly saying that he had uttered those words non-seriously. All the Anganwadi workers are on strike because of the irresponsible attitude of the CM. 

The Haryana government is not willing to abide by its own agreement even though the strike has been going on for the past two and a half months. 

Anganwadi workers and helpers are a crucial link in the implementation of schemes against malnutrition amongst children. During the Corona wave, freshly cooked food was not being served in Anganwadis. And now due to the stubbornness of the state government, Anganwadi centres are totally closed. This will have a serious impact on the health of women and children. The arrogance of the government is leading to repeated failure in negotiations. The state government is terrorising the workers and helpers in an attempt to break their struggle. The services of more than 200 Anganwadi workers have been terminated and serious cases have been lodged against hundreds of them.

AIDWA demands that the government should stop repression and all the termination notices and cases must be withdrawn immediately. All the workers and helpers must be given the status of government employees. Till this is implemented, a minimum wage of Rs 24,000 to the workers and Rs 16,000 to the helpers must be given. All the arrears of increase in payment since 2018, as per the announcement of the PM, of Rs 1500 and 750 to workers and helpers respectively must be immediately disbursed.  Similarly,  AIDWA demands that the Delhi State Government also immediately fulfil the  just demands of the workers and helpers in Delhi.