Upon assurance by the State government to provide gratuity, anganwadi workers, who were on an indefinite strike from January 23, called off their strike on Wednesday.
The workers had set a 48-hour deadline on Monday for their demands to be met, failing which they had threatened to shift their sit-in protest from Freedom Park to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s residence.
Hours before the deadline ended on Wednesday, senior officials of the government held a meeting with the representatives of the Karnataka State Anganwadi Employees’ Association and the impasse was resolved.
“The meeting with senior officers of the government was successful. The Finance Department has agreed to provide gratuity on the basis of the Supreme Court order on the matter and Gratuity Act, 1972. They have assured us that an order will be passed soon. The government has fulfilled some of our major demands. Therefore, we decided to call off the strike,” said S. Varalakshmi, president, Karnataka State Anganwadi Employees’ Association.
The government has also promised to improve infrastructure at anganwadi centres, provide free uniforms, books, shoes and bags to anganwadi children, and conduct regular health check-ups for anganwadi workers, among other demands.
