Lakhs will demonstrate in Central Minister’s constituencies and District headquarters
Lakhs of anganwadi workers and helpers will demonstrate in Central Minister’s constituencies and District headquarters throughout the country on its all India Demands’ Day on 10 July 2018. All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers (AIFAWH) the biggest national federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers in the country has been observing 10 July as all India Demands Day since last more than twenty years. This year the Demands day is to ‘Save ICDS’ from dismantling opposing
Direct Cash Transfer in ICDS!
- the move to stop hot cooked meals in anganwadis!
- the move to introduce nursery schools in place of anganwadis!
- the cut in central share of the ICDS budget from 60% to 25%
The demands are
- Immediately stop the move to introduce Direct/conditional cash transfers and packaged food in ICDS. No mandatory Aadhar linkage for ICDS services. Stop privatisation of ICDS in any form
- Universalise and institutionalize ICDS. Rollback the budget cuts in ICDS. Allocate adequate funds for ICDS in the Central Budget.
- Implement the recommendations of the 45th and 46th Indian labour Conferences’ recommendations to recognise the anganwadi workers and helpers as workers, pay them minimum wages not less than Rs.18000 per month, Provide them social security including pension not less than Rs.3000 per month.
AIFAWH had started the preparations for its demands day as early in March 2018 and at least six lakh workers will participate in the protest.
It is ironical that on 26 June 2018, the anganwadi federation affiliated to the BMS has given the same call for district level demonstrations on 10 July 2018! It should be noted that the BMS had betrayed the anganwadi workers and helpers by withdrawing from the 2nd September 2015 all India strike for which it had issued a notice along with other anganwadi federations just two days before the strike. The present call is nothing but a face saving exercise among the anganwadi employees who have already deserted the BMS. It has functioning unions in very few states. It had done a similar deceitful exercise to divide the scheme workers in general and anganwadi workers in particular when it had given a call for Delhi Chalo just one week after the Mahapadav on 9-11 November 2017. In all the occasions the workers had joined the united struggles leaving the BMS.
The BMS has issued statements that its leadership had met the BJP President on 1 June 2018 and the anganwadi leaders met him in the last week of June and that Shri. Amit Shah had assured them that the government will work on the demands of scheme workers! This is the joke of the year that the President of the BJP which promised to ‘increase the wage of the anganwadi workers’ in its 2014 election manifesto will now after completing four years of cutting down the ICDS budget and introducing DBT in anganwadis will now “work on the demands of the anganwadi workers and helpers”.
We call upon the anganwadi workers and helpers to mobilize in large numbers on 10 July against the BJP government’s move to dismantle ICDS and isolate all those who betray the interest of the workers and the people at large. We call upon all organisations of beneficiaries, organisations who work for food security and child rights and all concerned individuals to oppose the move of DBT in ICDS and such schemes and to support the struggle of anganwadi workers and helpers.
(A R Sindhu)
General Secretary
