Anganwadi staffers stage demonstration to press long pending demands

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

Thousands of anganwadi sevikas and madatnis (helpers) under the banner of AITUC sponsored Anganwadi Karmachari union (AKU), took out the morcha to press their demands, from the office of the Zilla Parishad to the District Collectorate, today afternoon. The demands include granting pay scale of Class III employees or teachers to Anganwadi Sevikas, and pay scale of Class IV employees to Anganwadi Helpers.

At the outset, the agitators, majority of them ladies, held an hour-long agitation before the morcha, today from 11 am to 12 noon. They submitted a memorandum of demands to the deputy chief executive officer (Women and Child Development) Nilesh Rathod and then proceeded towards the District Collectorate.

The morcha was led by AKU’s state vice president Ram Baheti, district secretary Tara Bansode, Shalini Pagare, Anil Jawale, Sangeeta Ambhore, Meera Adsare, Jyoti Gaikwad and others. The delegation submitted a memorandum of demands to the district collector Astik Kumar Pandey and demanded to hold a joint meeting with AKU office-bearers and the project officers (of 14 different projects in the district) and the deputy CEO.

The public gathering held in front of the district collector was participated by general secretary of Zilla Parishad Karmachari Mahasangh Sanjay Mahalankar, Lal Bavta Shet Majur Union’s Trymbak Shejul, Usha Shelke, Usha Galande, Shanno Shabana Shaikh, Adv Abhay Taksal, Devidas Jige, Prof. Ram Baheti and others spoke on the occasion.

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The demands of the agitators include granting of state government employees status to Anganwadi Karmacharis; granting of fixed pay of Rs 26,000 per month to sevikas and helpers till the granting of new pay scale; granting of pension (half of the last month salary drawn by the retiring employee); appointment of helpers as sevikas; elevation of the posts of sevikas with monetary benefits; provide good quality mobile with app for anganwadi works, etc.