New Delhi: Anganwadi workers in Delhi say that Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have ignored their demands for months but are making tall promises to counterparts who are engaged in the scheme in poll-bound states like Punjab and Goa.For over nine days, the workers have been protesting in the heart of Delhi, at chief minister Kejriwal’s residence. On Wednesday, the Delhi State Anganwadi Workers & Helpers Union (DSAWHU) held a press conference in a bid to expose the “betrayal of the Kejriwal government”. The unions have been demanding an increment in the honorarium of the workforce in addition to being recognised formally as employees. Moreover, the workers state that they are being deprived of minimum wage. The press conference, organised outside Vikas Bhawan in Civil Lines, also aimed to hold the Kejriwal government accountable for the promises AAP had made to the workers. Anganwadi workers at a press conference in Delhi, February 9, 2022. Photo: Sumedha Pal/The WireThe anganwadi services under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), provide food and nutrition supplements to children under six years of age as well as pregnant and lactating mothers. Over 20,000 women across Delhi offer their services as anganwadi workers and helpers in centres across the capital. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the women have served as frontline workers, providing not just food but also ensuring that the vaccination programme reaches everyone. Speaking at the event, Shivani Kaul, president of DSAWHU, said, “While Kejriwal and AAP are promising to double the honorarium of scheme workers in Goa and Punjab, they ignore anganwadi caregivers who are sitting 500 metres away from the CM’s residence.” She said that on September 7 last year, thousands of anganwadi workers had protested at the Delhi Secretariat. The minister of women and child development, Rajendra Pal Gautam, was compelled to meet a delegation of the union. “In the talks held that day, it was assured that concrete action would be taken on our charter of demands within a week. But when there was no response even after 4 months. A delegation went to the Delhi Secretariat on January 6 to remind the ministry. But we did not get an appointment with the minister. We made many attempts to get a response on our charter of demands after this, but did not get any positive response from the government,” Kaul said.Thus, the workers were left with no choice but to go on an indefinite strike from January 31, she said. “Today, even after nine days of the strike, we have not received any invitation for talks from the government,” the union member revealed. Watch | Why are Anganwadi Workers Calling out the Betrayal of the Modi GovernmentThe workers are demanding their previous arrears should be cleared immediately, apart from increased wages of Rs 26,000. They stated that the Delhi government is also attempting to suppress the movement. Rajni, an anganwadi caregiver, said “Far from engaging with the union, the Kejriwal government is attacking our constitutional right to strike by employing low and lousy manoeuvres. At the beginning of the strike, the department even sent us threats through messages and audio clips in an attempt to dissuade us from striking. Now. DTC buses are not being stopped for women workers to frustrate the anganwadi workers commuting to and from the protest site.”Previously, the workers in Gurugram had also staged protests over the same concerns. Since the beginning of its term, the workers have been urging the Kejriwal government to pay heed to the demands in the face of attempts being made to privatise the model and allegations of rampant corruption. Anju, an anganwadi worker, said, “The Union government announced a raise in our honorarium in 2018, but even after 40 months have passed, we have not been paid according to this increased honorarium. Kejriwal reduced the Delhi government’s share in our honorarium in 2019 because of the Union government’s raise. And today, he is misleading the scheme workers in Punjab that AAP ‘graciously’ raised our honorarium. In fact, he was forced against his will to issue a gazette after our 58-day strike.”The women also raised an alarm over the lack of compensation and safety. They once again targeted AAP for offering compensation to workers in other states. Sunita Kaushik, a worker, said, “The party’s claim in Punjab that compensation of Rs 1 crore has been given to the frontline workers of Delhi in the event of death due to COVID-19 is absolute hogwash. Two women workers from Govindpuri and Uttam Nagar have died during the pandemic, but they were not given even a single rupee as compensation!”Kaushik said even basic equipment like masks, sanitizers and face shields have not been provided to the workers during the pandemic, who have to perform grassroots level work and interact with many people. “The reality is that we are not given any assistance from the department even in the event of an accident on duty,” she said.
