A
delegation of the All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers
(AIFAWH) under the leadership of Tapan Sen MP, General Secretary, CITU met the
Minister for Women and Child Development Smt. Maneka Gandhi today(17th June
2014) and submitted a 16 point charter of demands. The delegation consisted of
A R Sindhu, General Secretary and K Hemalata, Vice President AIFAWH and
Secretaries CITU and Usharani, Santosh Rawal and Kishori Varma, Secretaries of
AIFAWH.
The
Minister gave a patient hearing to the delegation and assured that the ICDS
scheme should be strengthened with components of wages, training, work
monitoring and social security. She agreed that the demands of regularisaton,
minimum wages and social security are just demands and she need some time to
study the issues and find solutions.
She
assured the delegation that the scheme will not be privatized at any cost.
The
delegation demanded that till the employees are covered under a pension scheme
with assured pension, the retrenchment of the anganwadi employees must be
stopped. The minister said that she will do the needful within two weeks. She
also assured that the anganwadi workers and helpers shall not be engaged in any
non ICDS work.
The
delegation also requested the minister to call all the trade union federations
of anganwadi workers and helpers for a discussion, to which the minister
agreed.
The
AIFAWH call upon all the anganwadi workers and helpers of the country to
observe the Anganwadi Demand’s Day on 4th July 2014 all over the country by
organising rallies and demonstrations at district/project level and submit
memorandum to the WCD minister on the long pending demands.
The
text of memorandum is:
Dear
Madam,
We
congratulate you as the new Minister for Women and Child Development of the
Government of India.
We the
anganwadi workers and helpers, working under the Integrated Child Development
Services (ICDS) Scheme under your Ministry, would like to bring to your notice,
some of our long pending demands. More than 27 lakhs women are working as
anganwadi workers and helpers in nearly 14 lakh anganwadi and mini-anganwadi
centres in the country. Delivering the services of supplementary nutrition and
pre-school education to the under 6 years children since 1975, the ICDS had
been recognized as one of the most effective and unique services. In spite of
this, it is unfortunate that the anganwadi workers and helpers
who are the
grass root level workers are not yet recognized as ‘workers’ or employees.
They
are not even paid minimum wages, even though they work for the same time as
that of the school employees.
The
45th Indian Labour Conference recommended that they shall be recognized as
workers and be paid minimum wages and be provided social security and pension.
Unfortunately the government is yet to agree to this. Moreover, now in the name
of ‘strengthening and restructuring’ through ‘ICDS Mission’, the scheme is
being largely privatized. This will sabotage the very purpose of the scheme.
Although the work allocated to the anganwadi workers and helpers has increased
manifold, the remuneration has not increased since 2011.
We
request you to kindly recall your promise to “Review the working conditions and
enhance the remuneration of Anganwadi worker's.” We are sure that you will be
working towards this.
We
request you to consider the following long pending issues which we were raising
since long and take appropriate measures to fulfill these.
Our
Demands
1
Stop privatisation of ICDS in any form in the name of Public Private
Partnership, handing over to NGOs, restructuring etc. Review the ICDS Mission
2
Regularise all anganwadi workers as Grade III and helpers as Grade IV
government employees.
3
Implement the recommendations of the 45th Indian Labour Conference on Scheme
Workers for regularization, minimum wages and social security including pension
for them.
4
Pending regularisation, minimum wages of skilled workers should be paid to
anganwadi workers and that of semi skilled workers to helpers; remuneration of
anganwadi employees should be linked up with consumer price index.
5
Social security benefits including gratuity, pension, provident fund, medical
facilities etc should be provided to all anganwadi workers and helpers;
constitute national level welfare fund for anganwadi employees with
contribution from the central and state governments to ensure this.
6
Make provision of proper infrastructural facilities including pucca buildings
with drinking water, toilets etc for all anganwadicentres. Till such pucca
buildings are constructed, increase centre rents to Rs 7500 in metropolitan
cities, Rs 5000 in urban areas and to Rs 2500 in rural areas; anganwadi centres
in ICDS projects categorised as Rural, but actually located in urban areas
should be paid rent on par with the rent for the centres in the Urban projects.
7
Include children 3- 6 years under Right to Education Act and designate
anganwadi centres as nodal centres. Nursery centres or pre primary centres
should not be allowed in the vicinity of anganwadi centres under any other
department or programme of the government
8
Strengthen the ECE component of ICDS by imparting the necessary training to the
anganwadi workers; provide uniforms, toys etc to the children in the 3- 6 age
group to attract them to the anganwadi centres. Anganwadi Centre Leaving
Certificate from the Anganwadi worker should be made compulsory for admission
in government primary schools
9
Ensure regular supply of good quality supplementary nutrition in sufficient
quantities in all the anganwadi centres. Locally acceptable food freshly
prepared in the anganwadi centres should be served to the beneficiaries and not
‘Ready to Eat food’. There should be no Take Home Ration
10
No opening of mini anganwadi centres; convert all the mini anganwadi centres
into full fledged anganwadi centres and appoint helpers. Pay equal wages and
benefits to the anganwadi workers working the mini anganwadi centres as those
of the regular anganwadi workers.
11
Recognise the Right to Organisation and Collective bargaining of the anganwadi
employees. Withdraw the order restricting the anganwadi employees’
participating in union activities.
12
Ensure similar working conditions to all anganwadi workers and helpers in the
country with provisions for paid medical leave, promotion to the post of
supervisors, promotion of helpers to workers without age limit, summer and
winter holidays, 10% annual increment, increment for helpers etc
13
In spite of the guidelines from the centre, in most of the states, anganwadi
workers and helpers are given work other than that related to ICDS, including
BLO duties in elections, which is affecting the work of the anganwadi centre.
No work other than that of ICDS shall be assigned to the anganwadi workers and
helpers.
14
Grievance Redress Committees should be constituted in all the states at the
state and district levels by including representatives of the anganwadi
employees’ unions.
15
There should be no restrictions on the political activities of the anganwadi
employees, including the freedom to participate in any election, till such date
as they are recognised as government employees, when the service conditions as
applicable to government employees may be applied to them. Elected
representatives should be allowed to take leave and rejoin once he term is
finished
16
Corruption should be eradicated in the implementation of ICDS
Sincerely
yours
A R
Sindhu
General
Secretary
No comments:
Post a Comment