Bhubaneswar: Thousands of anganwadi workers staged a protest here Monday, demanding government employee status and a pay hike.
The workers, under the banner of All Odisha Anganwadi Ladies Workers Association, staged a demonstration near the state Assembly building ahead of the winter session to press for an 11-point charter of demands, including higher salaries, monthly pensions, and formal recognition as government employees.
The winter session is scheduled to start from November 27.
The workers also demanded that they should receive a monthly remuneration of Rs 18,000 and their assistants Rs 9,000, besides 5G mobile handsets for official use and a monthly pension of Rs 5,000.
“We had staged a similar demand in December last year. After getting assurance from the government, we withdrew the indefinite strike,” said Sumita Mohapatra, president of the association.
The government is yet to fulfil the genuine demands of the anganwadi workers, she claimed.
“If our demands are not fulfilled immediately, we will launch an indefinite strike during the upcoming Assembly session,” Mohapatra warned.
