THE BJP government in Uttarakhand has taken an extremely repressive step and decided to remove from service Anganwadi workers who have been protesting for the last 2 months with a 7-point charter of demands. AICCTU has condemned this repressive decision as extremely ‘shameful’ and an attack on the Constitutional right of women workers to struggle for their rights.
AICCTU leader and Uttarakhand Anganwadi Workers Union General Secretary Dr Kailash Pandey says more than 2000 Anganwadi workers in Tehri district have been issued notices. This action by the Trivendra government is an act of snatching away the democratic right to strike from Aanganwadi workers who have not been getting even the minimum wages. AICCTU strongly condemns this action and demands that the diktat of termination of services should be revoked immediately. He further said that the government which spends billions on advertisements in the name of women’s empowerment and the Beti Bachao campaign is nakedly exploiting the labor of Aanganwadis and other women workers. The government which is terrorizing Aanganwadi workers demanding minimum wages and secure jobs with termination of services and notices is forgetting that women’s power played a leading role in the formation of the State of Uttarakhand. Cautioning the government, he said, “If the BJP Trivendra Rawat government does not withdraw its decision of termination of services and issuing of notices, AICCTU and the Uttarakhand Anganwadi Workers Union will launch an aggressive struggle against this decision along with the agitating Anganwadi workers”.
