Stage protest, seek release of pending wages
Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 23: All Jammu & Kashmir Aganwadi Workers and Helpers Union today held a protest in South Kashmir’s Anantnag demanding the immediate release of pending wages, while also highlighting the grave risks that the workers are facing amid the COVID-19 pandemic
State Convenor of the Union, Latifa Ganie who was leading the protest, said that they are holding the protests for the last one month in different districts to press for their demands.
“Our honorarium has not been released in the last 6 months and liabilities of the year 2019 for several months is also lying pending, as we fail to understand why the wages have been withheld, we were forced to come out and stage protest,” she said.
The protestors said that while theirs is a centrally sponsored scheme, “it should be converted into a full-fledged department and until that is done, the minimum wages of Rs 21,000 should be implemented,” they said.
The State Convenor also said that while the Anganwadi workers and helpers have been engaged for the COVID duties, “but they are not getting any incentives as are other healthcare workers.”
She also said that the Anganwadi workers and helpers engaged in the door to door vaccination against COVID-19 are not being provided with the necessary protective gears, “unlike the employees of the health department who remain protected, the Anganwadi workers remain exposed to the risks,” she said.
The protestors also raised the issue of the pending salary of the supervisors working under the scheme for the last 3 months. “The supervisors take care of almost everything and not paying them the hard-earned salaries in a sheer injustice with them as they, along with others have got their families to feed,” they said.
The protestors, on the occasion, asked the higher-ups to intervene so that issues that they are facing are resolved without any delay.
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