The four-day strike at Freedom Park by anganwadi workers and helpers from all over the state, seeking a hike in their honorarium, came to an end on Thursday.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting with the leaders of the protesters at his residence in the evening and assured them that the government is committed to meet their demands. “The code of conduct is in place in view of Legislative Assembly byelections and a written agreement cannot be given. As we said before, we will have a meeting on April 10 instead of on April 19 to discuss the matter of increasing the pay,” he said.
The women, leading the protest, were satisfied with the chief minister’s promise and decided to call off the strike for now.
President of Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers’ Association Varalakshmi said, “The government has promised us that our demands will be met. Trusting its words, we are temporarily calling off the strike.” The workers condemned the chief minister’s remark on Wednesday in which he said that they were continuing the protest because they were getting free food and shelter.
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