PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Anganwadi workers from across the State will gherao the chief minister’s residence on March 14 to seek action on their major demands. The president of the Anganwadi Workers Association, Rekha Negi stated that these workers have been raising their demands for a long time.
Their key demands include an increase in the honorarium of Anganwadi workers by Rs 140 per day from the State government, along with a proposal to increase it to Rs 150 per day to be sent to the Central government. Additionally, they demand that a proposal to deduct Rs 300 from their salaries should only be enacted after a government order is issued to grant Rs 10 lakh to Anganwadi workers upon retirement, without any eligibility criteria being met. If this order is not issued, the Rs 300 should not be deducted from their accounts. They also insist that Anganwadi workers should not be linked to biometric machines, she added.
Notably, in the recent past under the banner of the Anganwadi Workers/Sevikas/Mini Employees Organisation Uttarakhand, a memorandum was submitted to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and the Women Empowerment and Child Development minister Rekha Arya through the office of the Dehradun district magistrate. This followed a rally staged by Anganwadi workers from Pauri district. However, no action has yet been taken. Negi stated that due to their long-standing demands remaining unfulfilled, Anganwadi workers from across the State will gather by 12 PM before heading to gherao the CM residence on March 14.
It will be recalled that a few days back, Negi has expressed disagreement with a recent decision by the State government, which stipulates that retirees will receive only Rs one lakh, along with an additional Rs 300 deduction from each Anganwadi worker’s salary in the State. She stated that the government had previously proposed a system where Rs 100 would be deducted from each worker’s salary each month. The goal was to ensure that workers would receive a substantial retirement sum, preventing them from facing financial difficulties in old age. Although Rs 100 has been deducted every month as part of this initiative, workers are dissatisfied because they feel the total amount accumulated by retirement remains insufficient. Consequently, they have rejected the new proposal to increase the contribution to Rs 300.
