NEW DELHI: As many as 22,000 workers employed with the Delhi State Aanganwadi Workers and Helpers Union (DSWAHU) in the Delhi-NCR region have collectively decided not to vote for any political party in this year’s Lok Sabha elections.
This decision stems from the fact that political parties have overlooked the demands of the association in their manifestos.
Of the current 22,000 workers associated with the Union, 12,750 are workers, 6,000 are helpers, and approximately 18,000 are union members, with numerous posts still lying vacant.
The Aanganwadi union has issued a statement announcing their decision to boycott the political parties this year. Describing the BJP as their worst adversary, the union highlighted that since the BJP came to power, there has been no increase in their honorary amounts, and this year’s manifesto contains no mention of Aanganwadi workers despite extensive protests.
Speaking with activist Priyambada Sharma, who has been advocating for Aanganwadi workers since 2017, she expressed, “The union is profoundly disappointed this time. The manifestos of the political parties indicate that our votes and basic demands hold no significance to them. Thus, there is no point in voting, and this sentiment should be reflected in the results.”
“BJP has conspicuously overlooked us, while the Congress has pledged to double the honorarium if they come to power. However, even under the Congress government, we had to protest for our demands, and it couldn’t do much for us. This time, we have vowed not to engage with any political leader or entertain any minister who initiates a dialogue with us. We remember that the BJP had also promised us increments in 2018, but it turned out to be mere rhetoric,” Priyambada added.
In their statement, the union listed 15 demands they want the government to address, including an immediate increase in the honorary amount from Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000, reinstating 884 terminated Aanganwadi workers and providing them with the pending honorarium for two years, applying all labour laws, cancelling the proposed four ‘Labour codes’, extending labor law protections to rural workers, restoring the ‘Purse Pension Scheme’, granting permanent employment status to all Aanganwadi workers, and offering summer and winter vacations along with maternity leave.
One worker from East Vinod Nagar lamented, “The unfortunate aspect of being an Aanganwadi worker is that despite fulfilling the responsibilities of childcare, we are burdened by the government with additional tasks Aanganwadis are operating without necessities.