 Hello and welcome to NewsClick. Scheme workers across the country have called for a nationwide strike on the 17th of January. Today we have with us, A.R. Sindhu, who is the general secretary of all India Federation of Anganbari Workers and Helpers. She will be discussing with us the need for the strike and the demands being made by the workers. Welcome, Corporate Sindhu. So, starting with the need for the strike, wages have always been a major issue for workers. So, can you tell us about the status of wages for scheme workers right now? Actually, the status of scheme workers, they are not even recognized as workers. That is the basic issue. The wages that they did not even call as wages. So, they say it is honorarium. And the scheme workers, they are mostly working in the government schemes, which provide the basic services to the poor people of the country like nutrition, health, education and all. That they are in the schemes itself, which should be permanent system. There they are made it as a temporary system like scheme. So, there itself there is a basic question. And then who are actually delivering the services in the schemes, the scheme workers. So, like Anganwadi workers, Asha workers, then midday mill workers, which who give midday mill and even para teachers and all in service with Shabhi and child labor teachers. So, various government schemes that those who are delivering the actual service, they are never treated as workers. They are never given the status of workers. That is the basic question. Then even this honorarium, so called honorarium, even our ministers and MPs and all are getting the honorarium. But this is as near as 7000 rupees per month that also for 10 months for a midday mill worker. For an Asha worker who delivers the basic health services, she is getting in peace rate. Even means sometimes it is up to 500 rupees or so per month. So, this is the situation as per as wages are concerned. And what about benefits such as health and pension? There is no other benefit given to any of these workers as per the government. The only social security available for the Anganwadi workers by government of India, he was a insurance scheme. Anganwadi Karikarthi Bhima Yojana. That from 2017, April onwards the government has cut it down only up to after 45 years only. So, this is the status of social security. They do not have any social security or any pension or anything. And I think the instant budget cuts which were made in these schemes also made this situation worse. This is related to the entire question of the basic services. So, here these are the services which is essential for the poor of the country for malnutrition is the biggest problem in India. And then the only scheme which is providing nutrition for the children like ICDS and the health services is related to that. That is midday meal sorry NHM national health mission and the midday meal which is providing nutrition to the school children. So, these three schemes together even it is covering around 12 crore of children up to 6 ages. And then up to 8th standard that is also around 11 crore children. So, this much coverage is there. So, that is for these services the government allocation already was very poor. But the Modi government which in the first full budget of the government itself, they have cut down the it up to one third for the ICDS. And it has half the budget for the midday meals. This is the situation. So, and not only that it is only thing is one thing is budget cut. Now the government is proposing to close down this centrally sponsored scheme one way or the other. And there is a the government proposal for closing down many of the schemes. There is a need to rationalize the schemes because sometimes there is duplication and all. But the government proposal and then the IOC report is that it is all coming under the category of subsidies. So, they want to close down all these schemes and then they cannot directly close it down just like that. So, they are proposing in different ways. One is that this PPP public private partner she is sponsoring then by CSR merging with that. And then the latest one is that the direct benefit transfer. So, they are proposed it in the basic schemes of ICDS already they are proposed. They are proposing it in the other schemes also like NHM these maternity benefit also they are they have already cut it down. But then this nutrition component of that they are giving planning to have it as direct benefit transfer. So, instead of instead of the services. Yeah, instead of Anganwari workers making food for children they will just get money in the accounts. Actually the pilot proposal which the in November the ministry of women and child development which they proposed. They say that instead of the food available at the Anganwadi centres the mothers will be paid the amount. It will come to an amount of 250 rupees per month per child. So, it is ridiculous. So, for a child getting 250 rupees per month and in each the required quantities how can they provide the services. So, that is the amount is one thing. The other thing is that in such because of poverty only this malnutrition occurs. So, in such households if paying this month then there is no we cannot assure that the child will get the nutrition according to the requirements. So, everywhere in the world this cash transfer that will say flow. And like he said these centrally sponsored schemes are a way for the government to basically are a major way through which the government meets the needs of the citizens. And now as you mentioned there is been like privatization is another way through which they are being cut down. So, can you tell us more about how privatization NGOs are coming into the picture? Actually you see this like in the ICDS for example this only the half of the children up to age 6 is covered under ICDS. And there is a demand from the public and from the Supreme Court order also there is an order that it should be universalized with quality to ensure it is a universal right of the children to have the nutrition and also the preschool. So, here this allocation itself was very low then there was this demand from and this Supreme Court monitoring and all then there was a proposal in the plan to increase the budgetary allocation. But what happened later on is that they this government in the name of rationalization they are proposing to cut down the expenses of the central government. So, in that they means because of this right to food act also is there then the Supreme Court monitoring is there then the public pressure is there and the workers pressure of course is there. So, they what they are trying to make it is that in the name of the social involvement they are bringing in the NGOs. NGOs in the sense that it is not somebody who is charitable having a sincere course they are all corporate NGOs like the Akshay Patra, Nandi Foundation. These are the B teams or means they are even the arms of the multinational companies and many of them are directly linked with the food companies like the Nandi Foundation. They are having linked with the food area working multinational corporations they are there in their direct board. Like that they are bringing in this big NGOs with the centralized kitchens and all and then there is a connection with the CSR of the companies. So, that you ensure and at the same time the government of India is paying the amount is also it is not that the government is in India the government money is going to the NGOs and these corporates. And at the same time they are getting the benefits of the CSR also and then there is another aspect of tax evasion. So, they are getting that kind of because they are doing such a charitable work. So, they will get tax concessions also. For example, the Vedanta company which is having a tax default amounting to means more than 20,000 crores payable to government of India. So, the which is there is a dispute. So, they are having an agreement with the Ministry of WCD for having around 4000 Anganwadi centers and 400 crores. So, it is a very cheap deal means for them it is very for 400 crores you will be getting your good name in the good list. So, that the entire nexus is there. Then again this there is the question of the supplementary nutrition component food. There the corporates are involved now through this package food. So, they are giving the plea that micro nutrients should be there. And then the minister herself means Menaka Gandhi has proposed to have ready to eat food in packets to be given to the children in the Anganwadi centers. She even went to the extent saying that we need we do not need even the Anganwadi centers. We will be directly sending is to through post offices. So, these are the type of things which is involved in and this is a big market for the food companies also. So, now on the 17th we have this all India strike before this last year we had the Mahapada and there were other agitations as well. What has been the response of the government so far and do you think after this strike the response will be any different? You see that this is these workers trade is under trade unions were raising not only the workers of issues of scheme workers, but the workers in general. But this particular issue is one is related to the right of the workers themselves for the services. Then this is a big it is a such a big loot of the labour you are not recognizing even as workers. So, there this is a crucial question and it is the employer is the government. So, there this and it is a vast section where nearly one crore workers are there involved in the central government, centralist sponsors schemes only. So, and majority of them are women and many of them are coming from the socially deprived sections and majority are the only breadwinners of their family because their recruitment roles itself says inside that they should be recruited from such backgrounds. So, here they are coming out for their rights. There are big struggles, spontaneous struggles also and some are under the leadership of the trade unions and some struggles leading to other struggles like the Anganwadi workers are mostly unionized and their struggles are inspiring the other sections like ASHA workers and midday mill workers and this rural livelihood mission LRLM and this para teachers there are so many struggles. Where many places the state governments are also forced to give some more wages to these workers. In the last one year many states have were forced to increase the honorarium particularly of Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers and midday mill workers. So, these struggles are coming up and they are for that reason they are coming out more and more also and for indefinite strikes like that they are coming out. So, the government in one way they want to how because it is a big constituency of workers and particularly of the rural population. So, there they are under political pressure whereas they want to cut down the budget. Here our purpose is that we are we try to convince the government then we are trying to pressurize this particularly the people's representatives it is their duty to take a position whether you want to continue this or whether we are you there for the rights of these workers. So, here some way we could make an atmosphere where the government is under pressure. So, the government statements are always coming that first when we were we started this union I see they were flatly rejecting that no they cannot be treated as workers. Now the Indian labor conference report is their recommendations are there. The governments are also saying that ok they are they have a right but we do not have the money. So, there also we are giving proposal country terms that how from where the money with the help of experts and economists and all. So, there they are now in the defensive. So, there we have no other way but to involve the people for their rights as well and to pressurize the government. So, we hope and we met the ministers we met the finance ministers the central trade unions separately also means for the pre budget consultation. So, we our demand is that you have to give proper allocation to the basic services schemes then including to have a better service through the schemes and for minimum wages then social security including pension P of ESI and all for the workers and also no privatization. These are the major demands and not only that now the government that latest they are in the name of linking with other they are cutting down the number of beneficiaries. Like you have we have been hearing about the starvation does but this is happening in mid-day meal. This is happening in ICDS this is happened with the maternity entitlements. So, every scheme they are cutting down in the name of linking of other also that is also that is also one of our major demands that no cutting down of the number of beneficiaries or the benefits. So, these are all then we hope that we could pressurize the government and in the ensuing budget there will be a means even if it is not enough that at least some measure to address this issue. But otherwise we the central trade unions have decided that including indefinite strike and for the scheme workers including having more means indefinite padau type of agitations we will be planning after the budget. So, we do hope that the government responds differently this time and it's better and the situation improves. Thank you governments for joining us. Thank you for watching Newsclick.