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CITU sees move to privatise ICDS
CITU Sees Move to Privatise ICDS, Integrated Child Development Scheme. Addressing a gathering of Anganwadi workers and workers unions, Hemalatha called for a nation-wide movement to protect ICDS from getting privatised.
Ropes in workers’ unions to campaign against govt apathy
- Centre trying to wash its hands off child development
- Half of Anganwadi helpers not receiving minimum wages
- Privatisation will affect health, worsen mortality rates of infants
- productivity of staff affected by additional work
Hyderabad: The Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), a noble initiative of the Government of India, which was launched in 1975, is at risk of going into the hands of private individuals, feared Dr Hemalatha, All-India president, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) on Sunday.
Addressing a gathering of Anganwadi workers and workers unions, Hemalatha called for a nation-wide movement to protect ICDS from getting privatised.
Stressing on the benefits of ICDS, she explained how the scheme had successfully reduced infant mortality rate (IMR) and malnutrition in children, though she felt that much more needed to be done.
She blamed the government for failing to create proper infrastructure for ICDS right from its inception and said that Anganwadi workers and helpers were still not being recognised as government employees and that half of them were not even receiving minimum wages. She said that the productivity of the workers was being affected due to the additional work of election duties, surveys and census duties which were being imposed on them, in addition to their primary work of providing health checkups, immunisation, pre-school education and nutritional counselling to the children of weaker sections.
Elaborating on the intentions of the government to privatise the scheme, she said that according to the Prime Minister’s recently drafted mission mode, 10 per cent of the ICDS work was being outsourced to corporate NGOs and Panchayat Raj institutions. She cited examples of Delhi and UP, where centralised kitchens were supplying food to Anganwadi centres. She alleged that the World Bank was actively involved in drafting the mission mode. Observing that the privatisation of ICDS would not only affect the welfare of Anganwadi workers but also the beneficiaries, she said that all the people in the supply chain would be adversely affected. She added that the government was trying to falsely blame the Anganwadi workers for poor results and corruption in order to privatise the scheme.
She suggested institutionalising the scheme, thus making it a permanent service for the people and the salary hike for them so that they can receive retirement pension and gratuity just like government pensioners.
A resolution was passed by CITU, Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham, Rythu Sangham, IDWA, KVPS and Girijana Sangham for launching a country-wide agitation in the next two months against privatisation of ICDS.
