Wednesday marked the third day of the indefinite strike held by anganwadi workers and helpers, demanding higher wages, near the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The Delhi State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union, through a statement, said it had also started a temporary creche at the protest site so that more women could join the protest with their children.
Poonam Rani, 40, said she came to the protest site at 10 a.m. with her two children — Samriti, 7, and Ankit, 10. “I left my children at the creche where they were drawing pictures with other children. We were at the protest site till 4 p.m.,” Ms. Rani said.
About 20-30 children were at the creche at different times through the day, said the workers’ union.
“The creche had toys and games for the children of the anganwadi workers. An art and craft session was also organised at the creche today [Wednesday]. Learning from the experience of their strikes in the past, the workers have prepared for the long haul,” a statement from the union read.
Last hike in 2017
The honorarium for anganwadi workers in Delhi was last increased in August 2017 after 58 days of strike. The present honorariums of anganwadi workers and helpers in Delhi stand at ₹9,678 and ₹4,839, respectively, as per the union.
“On September 7, 2021, we met Delhi government’s Women and Child Development Minister [Rajendra Pal Gautam] and were assured that our demands would be addressed within a week. But he never got back to us after that meeting. On January 6 this year, we tried to meet him again at the Secretariat, but were not given an appointment,” the spokesperson of the union said.