VELLORE: Anganwadi workers in Vellore held a torchlight protest in front of the district collectorate on Friday evening raising some of their long-pending demands, including regularisation and pension benefits.
During the demonstration, organised as part of a state-wide protest by the Tamil Nadu Anganwadi Workers and Helpers' Union (TNAWHU), the workers turned their mobile phone torches on to attract the attention of the government, emphasising their eight key demands.
K Julie, joint secretary of TNAWHU (Vellore) said that one of their major demands was regularisation. "Anganwadi workers and helpers should be made government employees and provided with regular salaries," she said, adding that retired workers and helpers should be provided with a pension along with a dearness allowance.
"Further, workers who joined in 1993 should immediately be granted a promotion, and vacant positions in anganwadi centres across Tamil Nadu should be filled immediately," said other protesting anganwadi staff.
Other demands include the granting of a month-long holiday in May for anganwadi centres, similar to schools, and halting of the mandatory uploading of facial recognition on the POSHAN tracker app, among others.
Meanwhile, a similar protest was also held near the Muthukadai bus stand in Ranipet.