People's Democracy

  ‘Even 100 Crore Signatures Won’t Move Us’

THE lawns of Vithalbhai Patel House in Delhi reverberated on the evening of April 26 with the full throated slogans of the anganwadi employees who condemned the callous attitude of the senior officers of the Women and Child Development department of the Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry and vowed to carry forward their struggle for the regularisation of ICDS.

In what was probably the largest congregation of women workers in the capital in recent times, thousands of anganwadi workers and helpers gathered on the lawns of Vithalbhai Patel House in New Delhi, a stone’s throw from Shastri Bhawan, the headquarters of the HRD ministry. These anganwadi employees came to participate in a ‘National Convention on Regularisation of ICDS’ organised by the All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers on April 26, 2005. They travelled all the way to the capital from 20 states in the country including from such far off states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, and Assam and Tripura in the East, and even Jammu and Kashmir. Along with them they brought the lakhs of signatures collected from the beneficiaries in their respective states, on a memorandum to the HRD minister Arjun Singh demanding regularisation of ICDS.

As the HRD minister was not able to meet the delegation to receive the memorandum, a delegation was advised to meet the secretary, Women and Child Development department in Shastri Bhawan who, it had been told, would receive the memorandum and the signatures. But, to its utter dismay the delegation found that the concerned officers in the department had nothing but contempt and ridicule towards the needs and desires of the poor, particularly women. Instead of acknowledging the fact that collection of so many signatures reflected the wishes of the people, which requires due consideration, the secretary bluntly told the delegation that the government could not be pressurised by collecting not one but even hundred crore signatures, from people who do not understand the financial implications of their demands. She also told that there was no need to increase the honorarium of the anganwadi employees, as it was enhanced only two years back and so many people were ready to work for even less. She referred to the crèche workers who were working for only Rs 400/- per month. She also put forward the argument that the income of the anganwadi workers and helpers was only supplementary as their family members were earning and as such they should not complain of the meagre ‘honorarium’.

The delegation strongly protested this exhibition of contempt and countered her arguments. It asked her to do her duty by referring the demands to the government, to which she ultimately agreed.

The anganwadi workers and helpers who were waiting for the delegation to return and inform of the response of the government were full of indignation at the attitude of the secretary. They unanimously decided to intensify the struggle in the coming days.

After initial unwillingness to receive the signatures, the joint secretary told that he would receive the signatures after finding some place to keep them. But after the delegation left, leaving one comrade to hand over the signatures, the joint secretary refused to receive the packets on the plea that there was no place in the department. The Federation took strong exception to the attitude of these senior officers in the department and a delegation lodged its complaint with the HRD minister, when it met him on the next day. It demanded that he arrange for collecting the packets from the CITU office.

The delegation submitted a memorandum to the minister demanding regularisation of ICDS. They also demanded that pending regularisation, the honorarium of anganwadi workers and helpers be enhanced to Rs 2,500 and Rs 1,500 per month, payment of yearly increment to both workers and helpers, Dearness allowance linked to consumer price index, social security benefits, medical leave on par with government employees etc. The minister promised to collect the signatures and to place the other demands before the cabinet.

The Federation called upon all its state committees to intensify stir on these demands by sending telegrams to the prime minister and HRD minister, holding project level demonstrations, and local, district and state level conventions by involving the beneficiaries etc. The state committees were also asked to send telegrams condemning the attitude of the secretary and joint secretary of the Women and Child Development department.