Beneath a fading portrait of Vladimir Lenin, on Sunday, over a thousand anganwadi workers in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada went on strike against the government’s unwillingness to increase salaries. Behind the portrait, 15 women lay down on the dais, among whom 13 had been fasting for five days continuously. Two among them – Gajalakshmi and Subbaravamma – were sent to a government hospital to recuperate from their weakness, and leaders affiliated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) replaced them on the dais. The strike, spanning 42 days, came to an end on Tuesday, January 23, after the Andhra Pradesh government agreed to increase wages and provide insurance coverage.
The success of the workers’ strike was preceded by five weeks of anger, and TNM spoke to several anganwadi workers in Vijayawada to better understand how despite a promise made by Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy before the 2019 elections, their demand for better pay fell on unyielding ears.
