Anganwadi workers in Karimnagar staged a protest by begging in the streets on Thursday. They have been on strike for 18 days now. The workers are upset because the State government has not provided them with minimum wage, pension, ESI, job security, and other legal facilities.
In neighboring states like Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Anganwadi workers are recognized as government employees and receive health cards. Retirement benefits, pension, festival bonus, and gratuity are also provided in states like West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, and Karnataka. However, the Telangana government is not providing any of these facilities to the Anganwadi workers.
The Chief Minister of Telangana changed the name of the workers to teachers, but they are not receiving salaries and other facilities equal to teachers. The workers are asking the government to make them permanent employees like VRA, Gram Panchayat secretaries, and contract employees.
On August 18, Minister Satyavati Rathod held a meeting with Anganwadi associations and made assurances to address their issues. However, the government recently announced low retirement benefits for the workers, which has left them deeply dissatisfied.
The workers are concerned because the state government is delaying solving their problems while elections are approaching. They are demanding a minimum salary of Rs 26,000 along with pension, ESI, and job security.
