Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 14: Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) on Saturday appealed the Social Welfare Department (SWD) to rollback the HR policy on the Anganwadi workers and helpers.
Addressing media persons here, Ashok Choudhary, Organizing Secretary BMS said that Social Welfare Department announced a comprehensive Human Resource Policy for Anganwadi workers and helpers, under which the maximum age limit of the workers and helpers has been fixed as 60 years.
“But this isn’t acceptable to the workers/helpers since other states have set 65 years as the age of retirement as they follow physical fitness as the criteria for retirement,” he said.
“It seems, the UT government has not researched on this issue thoroughly and has come up haphazardly with maximum age limit of 60 years due to which thousands of women working under the scheme have become unemployed,” he further said.
According to him, if the criterion of upper age limit of 60 years is implemented, almost 50% (30000) of the Anganwadi workers will be relieved/disengaged by the coming March.
Neelam Sharma, the General Secretary of BMS, said that the Anganwadi workers/helpers in other states are being paid a lump sum amount at the time of disengagement but no such criteria is followed in J&K.
Giving example of West Bengal, she said, “the state provides a lump sum amount of Rs 3 lakh to the workers/helpers at the time of disengagement but workers in J&K have never been paid any such amount.”
Harban Choudhary, the Working President of BMS J&K demanded that a High Court division bench ruling, that entitled the employees to benefits of SRO-64 and SRO-250, must be implemented in letter and spirit.
BMS also demanded that the recruitment process that has been hijacked by some “vested interests” must be initiated as soon as possible.
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