THOUSANDS of anganwadi workers and helpers, under the banner of All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers (AIFAWH), observed a "Black Day" on July 10, 2023, braving heavy rains in many parts of the country.
This year, AIFAWH decided to mark the occasion as a protest against the Modi government's efforts to dismantle the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). The Modi government has significantly reduced the budget for ICDS on two occasions: first in 2015, immediately after coming to power, and then again in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence, in numerous regions of the country, the rent for anganwadi centres has gone unpaid for nearly two years. Furthermore, due to budget cuts, nutritional food supplies have been severely insufficient and payments for food supplies have been delayed for months in various areas. Despite the skyrocketing cost of living, the remuneration of anganwadi workers and helpers has remained stagnant since 2018, as the Modi government has failed to provide any increase.
The government is forcefully implementing the 'Poshan Tracker App' without providing mobile phones, data packs, or a regional language mobile app. Furthermore, it is directing workers to exclude beneficiaries who do not possess Aadhaar cards and bank accounts. Workers are being harassed in the name of digitisation.
Despite a Supreme Court order, the government has remained silent on the implementation of the Payment of Gratuity Act for anganwadi workers and helpers even after one year of the order. The government has consistently neglected the recommendations from the Supreme Court, various parliamentary committees, and the Indian Labour Conference for timely wage revisions, the introduction of social security measures, and pension schemes.
Furthermore, the government is withdrawing from its responsibility to provide nutrition and other essential services to the people, and is instead opting to hand over the ICDS to corporations such as Vedanta and corporate NGOs like Akshayapatra.
When workers and helpers raise their voices against these policies that go against the interests of the people, they are denied their trade union rights and are subjected to victimisation, and heavy police repression.
The call for a "Black Day" was met with massive participation from workers and helpers across all states, highlighting their collective anger. This year, their frustration was further intensified by a statement made by the minister for women and child development, Smriti Irani, claiming that anganwadi workers and helpers only work for one hour a day.
In various states, the government had launched departmental programmes with the intention of sabotaging the ongoing struggle. In the states of Assam and Andhra Pradesh, orders were issued to deny permission for the AIFAWH programme. Citing an order by the Ministry of WCD mentioning the struggle of AIFAWH, the governments have ordered measurers to ensure nutrition in the anganwadi centres. It is absurd that the Modi government and state governments, which have failed to provide proper nutrition supplies to these centres, suddenly decided to address this issue on the day of the struggle.
The programme was observed in several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. The programme will be observed in West Bengal at a later date.
AIFAWH extends its congratulations to the anganwadi workers, helpers, and numerous union activists who contributed to the grand success of the struggle. AIFAWH reiterates its determination to defeat the corporate-communal nexus within the central government that seeks to dismantle the ICDS. AIFAWH calls upon anganwadi workers and helpers to remain prepared for more massive struggles in the days to come.
