On the day ASHA workers have begun their hunger strike, the Opposition UDF has accused the LDF government of being unfair to yet another set of scheme workers: Anganwadi workers and helpers.

The UDF leaders, particularly Opposition Leader V D Satheesan, painted a dreary picture of anganwadi workers and helpers in the Assembly on Thursday. While their meagre wages remained stagnant, the work load has been increasing. In certain cases, they are even forced to pay the rent, electricity and water charges of anganwadi buildings from their own pockets.

In turn, law minister P Rajeev, who presented the government's case, said that all the issues related to anganwadi work, including delayed payment, were sorted out at a meeting of trade unions on March 14.

It was Muslim League MLA Najeeb Kanthapuram who moved an adjournment motion on the issue. Making the case that the motion should be rejected, minister Rajeev said that not only had the government come to an understanding with anganwadi workers but a mechanism to conduct a review of the decisions taken at the conciliatory meeting had also been put in place.

He said that it was also decided to end the practice of paying the honorarium of anganwadi workers/helpers in three installments - centre, state, local bodies - and instead transfer it as a consolidated amount to them before the fifth of every month. "It is strange that a strike has been called after an agreement has been struck," the minister said. The anganwadi strike started alongside that of ASHA workers, in front of the Secretariat, on March 16.

Rajeev said the honorarium the centre has fixed for anganwadi workers is Rs 4500; of this 60% is the Centre's (Rs 2700) and the rest (Rs 1800) is the state's share. However, what an anganwadi worker in Kerala receives is Rs 12,500 (those with less than 10 years' experience) and Rs 13,000 (more than 10 years' experience).

The honorarium the centre has fixed for anganwadi helpers is Rs 2250; 60% (Rs 1350) is the centre's share and the rest (Rs 900) is the state's. Again, like in the case of workers, a helper in Kerala gets Rs 8500 (experience of less than 10 years) and Rs 9500 (10-plus years of experience) monthly.

"Reality is, 80% of the honorarium of both anganwadi workers and helpers are borne by the Kerala government," Rajeev said. Further, he said that the salary requirements of other ICDS staff were fully met by the state government.

The minister said that many issues faced by anganwadi workers - like the withdrawal of travel allowance or the need to be brought within the ambit of labour laws - fall within the powers of the Centre.

Najeeb Kanthapuram's speech was more political rhetoric than an exposition of the anganwadi worker's misery. He said the LDF government's attitude towards ASHA and anganwadi workers reminded him of the Tianenmen Square massacre of 1989 when protesting students were mowed down by military tanks. "Left to yourselves, you people would have run military tanks over ASHA and anganwadi workers protesting in front of Secretariat," Kanthapuram said.

From history he returned to the Bible. He spoke of how St Peter guarding the gates of heaven said it would be opened only for the wounded. (There were comments from the ruling side saying there was no such story in the Bible.)

"Now, the CPM is led by people with not a single little wound on their body," Kanthapuram said. There was also a reference to Sunita Williams. "Sunita and Butch Wilmore have returned to the ground from space but these CPM leaders are still high up, with no understanding of the ground reality," he said.

Minister Rajeev took note of the references. "There were Bible, China and Space in his speech but not a word of anganwadi workers," he said. That was left to opposition leader V D Satheesan.

Satheesan said that the state's share in the honorarium of anganwadi workers increased from Rs 550 at the end of the V S Achuthanandan tenure to Rs 7000 (the total honorarium, along with the Centre's share, was Rs 10,000) when the Oommen Chandy government exited.

His argument was that the functions of anganwadi workers have expanded post-2016. "Is their work profile the same now," he asked. He listed their functions: distribution of nutritious food, informal education, nutrition and healthcare, health education, disease prevention activities, health check-up, referring women to hospitals for further treatment, visits to houses of pregnant ladies and newborns, nutrition counselling for pregnant women, additional work after the introduction of Poshan Abhiyan (National Nutrition Mission), and mobilising self-help groups.

"On top of all of this, they have to carry out the tasks given to them by government and local bodies, including surveys and census," Satheesan said. "Is there anyone in Kerala, in any sector, who is doing such a volume of work? This is never-ending work, and vacations are a luxury for them," the opposition leader said.

He said that the honorarium the anganwadi workers now get (Rs 13,000 for workers and Rs 10,000 for helpers) was a pittance. "The legal minimum daily wage for unskilled work is Rs 700. But even after doing all this work, what these anganwadi workers get is just Rs 300-350, and for helpers it is even less. This is not even half the legal minimum wage. But even this is received in three installments," Satheesan said.

The minister had earlier said that steps were being taken to provide the honorarium as a single consolidated amount before the fifth of every month. Satheesan quoted a Supreme Court judgement that said that anganwadi workers were "getting a paltry sum that is not commensurate with the volume of work they do."

He said that even this measly amount these anganwadi workers could not take home. "If the anganwadi is functioning in a rented building, the worker and helper together have to pay the rent. Of course, it will be given back, but at some later date," Satheesan said. Even power and water bills of the anganwadi building should be paid from the scanty earnings of the worker and helper, he said. That's not all. They also have to pay for the vegetables, milk and eggs required for the anganwadi.

Satheesan said that the pensions (Rs 2000 for anganwadi workers and Rs 1500 for helpers) from the Anganwadi Welfare Board had not been paid for nine months. "They had made a contribution towards this (while they were working) and even this amount is not being paid," he said.

Satheesan then staged a walk out in protest against what he called the LDF government's attempts to "ridicule" anganwadi workers. "You are not the party of the working classes. You are a capitalist party," he said.