BROADLY, CENTRAL and state governments have provided for three kinds of jobs. First are permanent jobs arising out of existing posts for which funds exist. Second are temporary job positions financed through project funds to complete projects such bridges or roadlines. This type of employment creation started around the drought-prone decades of the 1970s in Maharashtra, which enabled women from marginalised communities to join work of their choice and also resulted in reduction in rural-urban migration such as through the Employment Creation Guarantee Scheme.
In the mid-2000s, buoyed by the success of this model the UPA-I government started the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (‘MGNREG’). Governments provide the funds for such schemes to support health, education, nutrition and maternal health which are recurring long gestation projects and not one time projects like laying a road.
In 1975, the government of India created a programme called the Integrated Child Development Services (‘ICDS’) to combat child hunger and malnutrition. To implement this programme, it has been engaging women volunteers.
An anganwadi is sanctioned for a population of 1000 persons in a village or district, and the anganwadi worker is accompanied by a sevika (worker) and a helper, both women. The anganwadis perform significant social functions such as planning for implementation of the ICDS programme. This includes, village mapping, building rapport with the community, conducting community surveys and enlisting beneficiaries, birth and death registration. They perform other administrative functions as well.
Accredited Social Health Activists (‘ASHA’) are another type of scheme-based workers. They are women workers aged between 25 to 45 years and resident of villages. They are literate and often educated up to at least 10th standard. They are selected through a rigorous process involving various community groups, self-help groups, Anganwadi institutions, the Block Nodal officer, the District Nodal officer, the village Health Committee and the Gram Sabha. They also undergo necessary training programmes. They cater to the health needs of women and children and thus act as a bridge between the public health system and the community. They perform various functions like recording birth and death data, making interventions in non-communicable diseases and communicable diseases, and take care of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health aspects, among others. They also monitor health, hygiene and sanitation in the community. Their services relate to universal immunisation, nutrition, basic sanitation and hygiene practices, and birth and pot-birth aspects like breast-feedingThe third category of scheme-based workers (‘SBW’) are the Mid-Day-Meal (‘MDMW’) scheme workers. On August 15, 1995 the Union government launched the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (‘NP-NSPE’) to enhance enrolment, retention, and attendance in schools while simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children.
From 2001, cooked food was served to every child in every government and government-aided primary school for a minimum duration of 200 days in a year. The Scheme has undergone several changes over the years.
SBW are called as ‘volunteers’ and not ‘workers” and they are paid ‘honorarium’ and not ‘wages/salary’
The CTUs claim that around one crore (100 lakhs or 10 million) scheme-based workers in India do not enjoy any form of labour market security. According to SEWA there were more than 3 crore home-based workers in India. These are arguably fantastic estimates though there is some truth in the fact that government data undercount these workers.
According to a government report, as of June 30, 2023 13.97 lakh operational anganwadi centres, 13.51 lakh anganwadi workers (‘AWW’) and 9.23 lakh anganwadi helpers (‘AWH’) were registered under the Poshan Tracker application, an IT application for the anganwadis. The Central and state governments do not share the ‘honorarium’ in any pre-fixed ratios. Both the Anganwadi workers and the Anganwadi centres will increase proportionate to the rise in population.
From October 1, 2018, the Union government has enhanced the honorarium of AWWs at main-AWCs from Rs.3,000/- to Rs.4,500/- per month, AWWs at mini- AWCs from Rs.2,250/- to Rs.3,500/- per month, AWHs from Rs.1,500/- to Rs.2,250/- per month, and introduced performance linked incentive of Rs.250/- per month for AWHs and Rs.500/- to AWWs.
In addition, states and union territories are also paying additional monetary incentives/honorarium to these functionaries from their own resources which vary from state to state. At present no proposal is under consideration to increase the honorarium of AWWs/ AWHs. Notably, the honorarium of MDM workers was not revised along with others.
Honorarium for AWW and AWH per Month as on December 31, 2023
(1) The Central government introduced a performance-linked incentive of Rs. 500 for AWW and Rs. 250 for AWH (per month)
(2) Depending on the qualification and/or number of years of service
The total compensation excluding performance-based incentives for AWW ranges from Rs. 5,100 in Puducherry to Rs. 13,650 in Telangana. The four states paying the least compensation were Puducherry (Rs. 5100), Odisha (Rs.5500), Bihar (Rs. 5950), and Uttar Pradesh (Rs. 6,000). The four states paying the highest compensations were Telangana (Rs.13650), Haryana (Rs. 11786), Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh (both Rs. 11500). In the case of AWH, the earnings vary between Rs. 2550 to Rs. 7,800. The bottom and top four states were the same as for AWW. One of the most important demands of the SBWs has payment of minimum wage.
As on March 13, 2020, there were 10,47,324 (a little more than one million) ASHA workers employed in various states in India. Under the National Health Mission, ASHA workers act as a critical link between healthcare delivery systems and the community. It is interesting to note that under the National Health Mission (‘NHM’), ASHA workers are envisaged as community health volunteers and they are entitled to task/activity-based incentives and not wages/salaries. They discharge various functions like maternal health, child health, immunisation, family planning, adolescent health, incentive for routine recurrent activities, drinking water and sanitation and tackling various diseases like malaria, tuberculosis etc. and for each component of activity payment for rural/urban centres is laid down. It is a rather complex system of computing the total earnings.
There is no fixed total income for ASHA workers. The government notes that “ASHAs are envisaged to be community health volunteers and entitled to task/activity-based incentives.” ASHAs receive a fixed monthly incentive of Rs. 2000 per month for routine and recurring activities. Additionally, they are provided performance-based incentives for a varied set of activities under various National Health Programmes. The Hindu has estimated that an ASHA worker can make anything between ₹5,000 and ₹15,000 a month. In 2018, the government approved an ASHA benefit package, providing coverage for accidents, deaths and disability.
Regional variations in ASHA’s remuneration are striking. Andhra Pradesh became the state paying the highest remuneration of Rs. 10,000 to ASHA workers. It also pays maternity benefits for 180 days for first two childbirths and raised the retirement age from 60 to 62. In March 2024, Maharashtra increased the honorarium for 75,000 ASHA workers in the state to Rs. 13,000 allegedly in the backdrop of general elections. ASHAs delivering same set of services get Rs 750 in Uttar Pradesh, Rs 2,000 in Himachal Pradesh, Rs 2,700 in Rajasthan, Rs 3,000 each in West Bengal and Delhi, Rs 4,000 each in Haryana and Karnataka, Rs 5,000 in Kerala, Rs 6,000 in Sikkim and Rs. 7,500 in Telangana.
The cook-cum-helpers hired under the midday meal scheme (renamed as the Prime Minister Poshan scheme after 2021) received an honorarium of Rs. 1,000 per month for ten months (as revised in 2009) which is shared in a 60:40 ratio between the Centre and state governments. The government reported employment of 27.48 lakhs cook-cum-helpers (‘CCH’) who work for about 3 to 4 hours in the schools for preparing and serving the mid-day meal (‘MDM’). Since cook-cum-helpers under MDMS are engaged for limited hours on a part-time basis for preparing and serving the MDM, they are not treated as Government employees). The shares in the costs of production of cooking gas at the primary stage are shared between the Centre and state governments to ensure there are no coordination failures.
The conversion/cooking cost approved in respect of primary stage was at the rate of Rs. 3.59 per child per school day for the year 2014-15, out of which Rs. 2.69 is borne by the Union government and Rs. 0.90 is being borne by the state government. State governments also provide additional resource.
Suffice it to say that overall they receive lower level of pay despite performing some important vital and social functions. The government calls them also as “volunteers” alongside Anganwadis and ASHA.
Nominal Honorarium for Selected MDM Workers in Selected States
Source: Reply to Parliament question N. 24.
Agitational issues
There are many issues that the SBWs have been raising in various states and UTs. Three are foremost among others: employee status as equivalent to the government employees, better terms and conditions of employment, mainly a rise in wages, and allowances, and social security.
Employees as a category:
Even though an employer-employee relationship exists between the SBWs and the government agencies, the government has maintained that women workers offer ‘voluntary’ services to the programmes relating to health and nutrition and hence they would be termed as “volunteers”. So the fundamental existential demand of these lakhs of workers is to seek the status of workers.
The workers adopted three major strategies to achieve this demand even if partially through relentless agitations, tripartite discussions and litigations. The workers have also often joined micro and decentralised agitations. Both central and state governments have shown their acceptance of the agitational, legal action and dialogue methods.
Social dialogue method
The 44th session of the Indian Labour Conference (‘ILC’) held on February 14 and 15, 2012 recommended that “social security benefits be provided to Anganwadi, Asha, Mid-Day Meal workers and other similar type of workers.”
The 45th ILC held on May 17 and 18, 2013 deliberated the issues concerning the “employee” status. The conference unanimously made several major recommendations to the government:
1) They should be first recogniSed as “workers” and not volunteers or honorary workers.
2) They should be paid minimum wages.
3) They should get all social security benefits like pension, gratuity, maternity benefits etc.
4) To begin with, the social security schemes for unorganised workers like Aam Adami Bima Yojana (‘AABY’) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (‘RSBY’) should be extended to these workers.
5) Anganwadi centres should be in pucca buildings in good conditions with all basic amenities. Similarly, for ASHA workers, suitable working space with basic amenities should be provided.
6) They should have the right to organise and do collective bargaining
The trade unions urged the government to treat scheme-based workers as “employees” and demanded that they be provided with social security benefits. The recommendations of the Conference Committee of the 46th ILC reiterated among others that “the Anganwadi/Asha/Mid-day meal and other such workers, the Committee reiterated that they should be extended coverage under ESI/EPF.”
However, the central and state governments have denied the status of employees on the following ground:
“Anganwadi Workers and Anganwadi Helpers are ‘honorary workers’ from the local community who voluntarily come forward to render their services in the area of child care and development to help the community for which they are paid an honorarium. Such honorary workers cannot be treated on par with regular Government employees.”
They point out that the women workers work only for about four-hours a day and they are part-time workers and thus can only be eligible for an honorarium and not a salary. However, research has shown that the anganwadis perform multiple primary and secondary functions such as planning for implementation of ICDS programme, service delivery, information, education and communication, community context, and management and organisation.
The central government adds new schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Save and educate the girl child), the responsibility of which falls on the anganwadis. Additionally, these workers are engaged in a vast amount of bureaucracy in terms of maintaining statistics, submitting reports, and maintaining 20-odd registers. They suffer from lack of good working conditions (say a pucca building, poor quality rented building, non-availability of timely rent, etc). With ludicrously low rent margins allocated, they face the fundamental issue of a decent work premise.*
Legal methods
The government claimed that the women workers “volunteered” to work in a centrally sponsored scheme like ICDS and their work does not extend beyond a few hours. The state governments argued that eventhough ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme, the onus to bear the additional costs falls upon the state government.
In State Of Karnataka v. Ameerbi (2006)Supreme Court noted that the ICDS did not create any sanctioned posts and the anganwadis are not carrying out the functions of the State. Further they were not eligible for minimum wages as they were not an industry either.
In recent years the judiciary has come to realise the vital and multiple important functions performed by the AWW and AWH and notes them as the “frontline women workers” who are the “backbone of the ICDS”. The Supreme Court in Maniben Maganbhai Bhariya v. District Development Officer ( 2022) has held that the Anganwadis are eligible for the payment of gratuity. The Court observed that the anganwadis perform vital statutory services under the Right to Education Act, 2006 and the National Food Security Act, 2013 as they are routed through the ICDS and the Anganwadi centres. It held that the anganwadis are eligible for gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1971.
The Himachal Pradesh Mid-day Meal Workers’ Union of Centre of Indian Trade Unions filed a writ petition against the practice of payment of honorarium to the MMW only for ten months in a year while those serving in the school receive their payments for the entire twelve months including their vacation pay. It is the teaching staff which actually imparts teaching to the students. Other staff which includes non-teaching staff like the Midday Meal Workers facilitate the said process.
If all persons engaged in the process, except the Midday Meal Workers, are being paid wages for the entire calendar year, why is the same being denied to the Midday Meal Workers? In 2019, theHimachal Pradesh High Court directed the government to pay honorarium for all twelve months in a year prospectively.
In February this year, the Gujarat High Court has detected an unmistakable master-servant relationship between the State and the anganwadis. The Court reiterated the statutory duties performed under the laws mentioned above and it also noted the multifarious functions performed by anganwadis such as “a paramedic, a counsellor, a coordinator, a public relations manager, an event manager, a clerk, a pre-school teachers and more.”
In the process, they perform many types of functions and together they perform on average seven hours of work daily at the Anganwadi centre. The High Court has directed the central and state government to formulate a policy to regularise the anganwadis as Class 3 and Class state employees under the Gujarat Civil Services (Classification and Recruitment) (General) Rules, 1967.
Till then, the anganwadis are eligible for the payment of minimum wages as equal to Class 3 and Class 4 posts of the state government.
What can be more damning than the fact that workers who are doing providing phenomenal and invaluable service to society in the development of human beings are being stridently denied the status of workers, being paid meagre honorariums and being provided crumbs of social security?
Why is the government denying them regular government employee status which has long been their demand?
This will lead to a rise in salary costs for the government as the number of anganwadis will generally increase as per population dynamics. Thus the Rajya Sabha Committee on Petitions in 2006 did not find it feasible to regularise them as government employees.
More concerningly, the government is proposing to withdraw its involvement in these social welfare schemes (already reflected in cuts in public spending) and make ICDS a part of corporate social responsibility activities and/or shift it to a public-private partnership model.
