ALL the unions of workers and officers of the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) have decided to launch a joint agitation to save the ICDS and the workers’ interests. At the initiative of the Anganwadi Mulajam Union of Punjab (affiliated to the Centre of India Trade Unions, CITU), a joint meeting of the representatives of various unions and associations of Anganwadi workers and helpers, supervisors, ministerial staff, CDPOs and POs was held in Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna Bhawan at Chandigarh, on May 19. Over 120 representatives of various unions and associations of the workers and officers took part in this meeting. The participation was in fact beyond the expectation of even the meeting’s organisers. The meeting was chaired by Usha Rani, state president of the Anganwadi Mulajam Union of Punjab. Inaugurating the meeting, Punjab state CITU’s general secretary Raghunath Singh said that the anti-people, anti-national economic policies of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation --- being implemented by both the central and the state governments --- were resulting in weakening the public sector of our country. He added that the central government’s plan to convert the ICDS into a mission and the state government’s decision to change the expenditure status of the ICDS from non-plan to plan category in the state budget would weaken the very scheme and harm the interest of its employees and officers. Singh then urged upon the workers and officers to launch a militant joint struggle against any move of the central or the state government to weaken the ICDS and hurt its interest of the workers and officers. In his speech, Satish Kumar, state president of the Officers Association, said that there should be a joint platform to launch united struggle against the anti-ICDS and anti-employee decisions of both the central and the state governments. He assured that the association of the CDPOs and POs would extend full support to the joint struggles to save the ICDS and to save the interest of its employees. Addressing the meeting, Harjeet Kaur Panjola (state general secretary of Anganwadi Mulajam Union of Punjab) and Surinder Rakar (state president of Supervisors Union) also assured wholehearted support to the joint struggle which would be launched by the unions and associations of the employees and officers. They expressed hope that the governments would have to withdraw their anti-worker decisions. While concluding the meeting, Usha Rani placed a resolution on the future action plan. She told that to launch a statewide militant agitation another meeting will be held in Bhakna Bhawan on May 27 and there a state coordination committee be formed and the date and phases of agitation finalised. All other unions which did not participate in the May 19 meeting would be invited to attend the May 27 meeting. The resolution placed by Usha Rani about the future action plan was unanimously adopted.