Anganwadi strike (img: File)

More than 1 lakh female Anganwadi workers declared a two-day-long strike on Feb 16 against the government over not meeting their demands.

Owing to this, more than 2,500 Anganwadis in the state are to remain closed during the two days.

The workers carried out a demonstration against their treatment at Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhavnagar, Aravalli, Junagadh, Navsari, and Rajkot, among other districts.

In Bhavnagar, the agitation was also joined by female organisations, the mid-day meal scheme workers union, the bank employees union, the insurance employees union, and the democratic youth federation of India.

It is noteworthy that the female Anganwadi and accredited social health activist (ASHA) workers made several pleas to the authorities, but no resolution was settled.

As per the protestors, “Salaries have not been increased since 2018. Our pleas to reduce workloads were also ignored. Incentive amounts and bills are also not paid accordingly.”

The Anganwadi workers union has vowed that if their demands aren’t fulfilled, they will hem the houses of BJP MLAs and MPs.

Many officials are also accused of trying to threaten the agitators, they allege.

The government has yet to invite the protestors for discussions over their terms.

Alongside, government employees working at the Gandhinagar secretariat also protested over their issues by dressing in black clothes.

They have asked to re-enact the previous pension scheme.

Their demands also include a plot to be allotted at a concessional rate, a promotion ratio to be increased, and a fixed salary system to be abolished, among others.

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