The division bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachahani directed the central and state governments to collectively, or the state authorities solely, to pay them minimal month-to-month wages to the anganwadi staff.
The arrears of latest wages – Rs 24,800 to AWWs and Rs 20,300 to AWHs – shall be paid to them from April 1, 2025, it mentioned.
Anganwadi is a flagship programme of the Centre aimed toward offering early care to kids as much as the age of 6, pregnant ladies and lactating moms by means of a community of AWWs and AWHs.
The judges put aside an earlier single-judge bench order that granted wages retrospectively for the three years previous the submitting of the writ petitions regarding the matter. If applied, the division bench mentioned, it might improve the state's monetary burden considerably and retrospectively.
In its order on Wednesday, the HC noticed that contemplating the character of duties and the mode of appointment, the AWWs and AWHs are entitled to “no less than ‘dwelling wage' above the ‘minimal' and ‘honest wage' in order that it could provide the wants of their households with all the fabric issues.”The meager quantity of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,500 to the AWWs and AWHs impinges their arduous obligations. The irony is that the AWWs and AWHs, who fulfill the wants of pregnant and lactating moms, well being and training of minors, are disadvantaged of dwelling a life with dignity and respect for need of apposite remuneration.”Therefore, the denial of “dwelling wage” to the AWWs and AWHs is violative of elementary rights enshrined beneath Article 21 of the Structure of India,” it mentioned.The aforesaid wages shall be topic to additional corresponding revisions as and when declared by the central authorities or the state authorities, it mentioned.
“The current instructions will apply to all of the AWWs and AWHs engaged in all of the Anganwadi facilities of the State of Gujarat, and people who haven't approached this court docket, shall not be compelled to file writ petition(s) for acquiring related order from the Excessive Courtroom,” the court docket mentioned.
Based on authorities knowledge shared in 2024, Gujarat collectively had practically 1 lakh AWWs and AWHs.
The HC additionally noticed that “equal pay for equal work” doesn't apply to AWWs and AWHs as they haven't proved their equivalence of labor with another Class-III and Class-IV posts when it comes to {qualifications} for recruitment in addition to nature and duties of duties and wage.
In its order handed on August 2, 2024, the single-judge bench of the HC had directed that the AWWs and AWHs be handled on a par with the recurrently chosen everlasting staff holding civil posts within the state or central authorities.
The court docket had additional directed the central and state governments to formulate a coverage for absorption of the posts of AWWs and AWHs in authorities service and confer consequential regularisation advantages to them.
In a batch of petitions, the AWWs and AWHs had prayed for regularisation of their service and urged the court docket to declare that the honorarium paid to them was violative of Articles 14, 16, 21, and 23 of the Structure.
A course has additionally been searched for cost of minimal wages to AWWs and AWHs, on par with part-time staff in different departments of the Gujarat authorities.
