Friday, 30 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Anganwadi workers recently staged a protest in the Pauri district against the State government’s alleged failure to meet their longstaning demands. They have cautioned that unless their demands are promptly addressed by the State government, Anganwadi workers across the State will escalate their actions by chanting slogans and protesting outside the chief minister’s residence. The president of the Anganwadi workers association Rekha Negi informed that for several months, the Anganwadi workers have been taking to the streets to urge the state government to fulfill their requests, which include salary increments, provision of new smartphones and other necessary amenities. Negi further stated that the state government has persistently disregarded their demands for an extended period.
Negi further added that in view of this, they had recently organised a protest in the Pauri district and submitted a memorandum outlining their demands to the Pauri district magistrate. Within the memorandum, the Anganwadi workers demanded that the honorarium for Anganwadi workers be increased to Rs 18,000, equivalent to Rs 600 per day, in accordance with minimum wage standards. They also urged for a retirement amount of 10 lakhs to be provided to Anganwadi workers to support their post-retirement life with their families, she added.
Further, she added that they had also proposed that the retirement age for Anganwadi workers be extended to 65 years from the current 60 years, in addition to issuing Golden cards to the Anganwadi workers. She added that new smartphones to them and additional requests have also been included in the memorandum submitted to the DM. She pointed out that the government is utilising Anganwadi workers to carry out tasks for various departments. Failure to log their attendance through video calls results in a deduction of their honorarium, Apart from this, the current workload has pushed Anganwadi workers to contemplate suicide. She stressed that the government must address their demands promptly; otherwise, they will organise a protest at the state level soon.
