CM assures hike in Anganwadi workers’ honorarium, strike deferred after meeting
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami assured the Anganwadi Karyakatri/Sevika/Mini Karamchari Sangathan of Uttarakhand that the State government is seriously considering a respectable increase in their honorarium. Following this assurance, the Anganwadi workers agreed to defer their ongoing strike.
A delegation of Anganwadi Workers Association led by its State president Rekha Negi, met the CM at the secretariat on the weekend to discuss their demands and issues.
Negi informed that during the meeting, the CM agreed to an increase of Rs 140 per day as outlined in the demand letter submitted earlier. He instructed departmental officers to take action on this matter at the departmental level. Additionally, regarding the proposed increase of Rs 150 from the Central Government, the secretary of the Women Empowerment and Child Development (WECD) department Chandresh Kumar stated that a proposal for this increase has already been sent to the Central government.
Negi further informed that the CM and departmental officials assured that a deduction of Rs 300 would not be made without the consent of the Anganwadi workers. They also assured that the honorarium of Anganwadi workers who are on strike will not be deducted by the department. She added that after the positive outcomes of the discussions with the CM and departmental officials, all Anganwadi workers agreed to postpone their protest.
Notably, in light of their demands, including the increase in honorarium, the Anganwadi workers had been on strike for a long time. They also conducted a State-level rally on March 14, 2026, to address various concerns. Negi previously claimed that workers were manhandled by the authorities during the rally when they attempted to submit a memorandum to the CM. She stated that the administration intervened, preventing the workers from proceeding and forcibly loading them into vehicles.
