“THE Anganwadi Worker (AWW) is required to work as a paramedic, counselor, coordinator, public relations manager, event manager, clerk, pre-school teacher, and more… Having regard to the onerous responsibilities upon the AWW and AWH, there appears to be a clear case of discrimination in the matter of public employment since a person who is engaged to carry out multifarious activities, is being paid a very meager amount of emolument on the ground that she is appointed in a scheme…the scheme may be designed to take an advantage of the completely unequal bargaining power to an unemployed lady more so when she is from a rural background…it would appear that the present may also be a case of discrimination on basis of sex or in other words gender…the AWWs and AWHs are clearly being discriminated, which discrimination is violative of the fundamental right of equality and equality in matters of public employment guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16(1) of the Constitution of India.”

These statements are not quotes from any document of the All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers (AIFAWH), but rather from a recent order by the Gujarat High Court. The court has directed the central and Gujarat state governments to jointly formulate a policy to regularise anganwadi workers and helpers as Class III and Class IV employees within six months. The single bench order further directed that until the government finalises the policy, the petitioners are entitled to receive minimum wages equivalent to those of Class III and Class IV state government employees. The High Court observed that anganwadi workers and helpers, who work around seven hours a day, are being discriminated against, as they are paid less than even daily-rated workers. The court noted that the relationship between the state and anganwadi workers and helpers is one of employer and appointee.

This judgment marks another landmark achievement stemming from the manifold struggles of the trade union movement. It is the result of a landmark Supreme Court judgment in April 2022, which ruled that anganwadi workers and helpers are entitled to gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act. The Gujarat Anganwadi Karmachari Sangathana, affiliated with AIFAWH and CITU, was one of the petitioners in the case. Despite the Supreme Court's judgment over two and a half years ago, the Government of India, which often boasts about the successes of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme (now Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0), has yet to implement the ruling.

Against the backdrop of the Gujarat High Court verdict and as part of the observance of the Golden Jubilee of ICDS, AIFAWH organised a seminar titled “ECD, ICDS, and Legal Entitlements of Children and Anganwadi Workers & Helpers” on December 7, 2024. Justice Ajay Rastogi, former judge of the Supreme Court and a member of the bench that delivered the verdict on the right to gratuity for anganwadi workers and helpers, inaugurated the seminar.

Addressing the anganwadi union leadership from 14 states, Justice Rastogi stated that he had attended many seminars and meetings, but this was the first of its kind. He observed that India, as a nation, has failed to ensure the fundamental rights of food, education, and healthcare for its citizens. Even after 50 years of ICDS, the programme has not fully met the necessities, demands, and expectations of the people. Justice Rastogi highlighted that anganwadi workers and helpers have succeeded where the government has failed.

He shared that, while writing the judgment, he was compelled by the belief that the nation must deliver justice to those who provide the most critical services. He remarked on the existence of two Indias – the "shining" one and the "deprived" one – and emphasized that the country's development perspective must prioritise the inclusion of the latter. He urged the institutionalisation of ICDS and, called for the government to acknowledge the rights of anganwadi workers and helpers and to implement the Supreme Court's order in both letter and spirit.

Justice Rastogi also encouraged anganwadi workers and helpers to critically assess the implementation of their duties and to provide specific suggestions for improving the services at anganwadi centres. AR Sindhu, General Secretary of AIFAWH, presented the organisation's perspective on the Supreme Court's order and the associated legal entitlements.

The Supreme Court's order in the Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya case (on gratuity for anganwadi workers) is a landmark judgment in both labour jurisprudence and civil rights. However, it has unfortunately received little attention, even within the trade union movement. The judgment has clearly defined the roles and rights of anganwadi workers, with potentially far-reaching implications for the rights of scheme workers. It has also made significant observations regarding the fundamental rights of children and women.

Anganwadi workers and helpers perform statutory duties under two very important laws in the country: the Food Security Act and the Right to Education Act, both of which are implemented through the ICDS/Anganwadi centres. The Supreme Court judgment clarified that anganwadi workers and helpers are entitled to gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act. It established that they fall under the definition of 'workmen' within the 'institution' of ICDS and that the remuneration they receive qualifies as 'wages.'

“ICDS scheme is not just a welfare scheme but a means of protecting the rights of children under six including their right to nutrition, health and joyful learning and rights of pregnant and lactating mothers. The survival, wellbeing and rights of children become social issues of interest to the whole community and not just to the mothers of the families concerned. “Socialised childcare” also contributes to the liberation of women: it lightens the burden of looking after children, provides a potential source of remunerated employment for women and gives them an opportunity to build women’s organisations. In light of these rich contributions of childcare to social progress, ICDS deserves far greater attention in public policy since ICDS acts as an institutional mechanism for realisation of child and women rights. Yet these services are regarded as State largesse rather than as enforceable entitlements…Thus, ICDS is an extended arm of the Ministry of Women and Child Development and their nature of services been provided to a common man must be acknowledged by the legislation”. The judgment further says that the exclusion of children under six years of age from the RTE Act denies these basic rights to them.

The rights of scheme workers are inseparably linked to the legal entitlements to basic services for citizens. Since its inception, AIFAWH, the largest trade union federation of anganwadi workers and helpers, has been at the forefront of struggles not only for the rights of workers but also for the rights of children to food, health, and education. AIFAWH has waged numerous struggles and conducted intensive and extensive campaigns across the country, contributing to the enactment of the Right to Education (RTE) Act and the National Food Security (NFS) Act.

The seminar was a rare occasion where key figures associated with the landmark judgment came together. These included the complainant in the case, Arun Mehta, President of the Gujarat Anganwadi Karmachari Sangathana and General Secretary of CITU Gujarat, and the complainant’s advocate,  PV Surendranath, a senior Supreme Court advocate and General Secretary of the All India Lawyers Union. They addressed the seminar alongside Justice Ajay Rastogi.

Surendranath noted that, in an era of anti-people judgments favouring the employer class, such rulings are exceptions, achieved only through persistent struggles to ensure their implementation. Arun Mehta highlighted the legal significance of the Gujarat High Court judgment and detailed how the union fought for the implementation of the Supreme Court order, enabling the disbursement of approximately Rs 200 crore as gratuity to anganwadi workers and helpers in the state.

Prof. Dipa Sinha, from the Right to Food Campaign, discussed the increasing casualisation of employment in the service sector and the exploitation of women workers through various schemes, often referred to by terms like didis, behen, or maiyya. She proposed that a 2-5 per cent wealth tax on the super-rich could institutionalise these schemes.

The seminar was chaired by K Hemalata, President of CITU, who stressed the importance of strengthening the organisation and mobilising beneficiaries. Usha Rani, President of AIFAWH, delivered the vote of thanks.

As part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of ICDS, AIFAWH announced a series of activities. A national convention will be held at Talkatora Stadium on February 13, 2025, during the Budget Session of Parliament, to demand the regularisation of anganwadi workers and helpers, the institutionalisation of ICDS, and the enactment of legislation to ensure early childhood care, education, and development. Six lakh claim forms from anganwadi workers and helpers will be submitted to the President of India. Five thousand red volunteers of AIFAWH will participate in the convention, where the next series of struggles will be declared.