Anganwadi Workers in Karnataka Have Not Received Honorarium in Last Five Months

Over 1.2 lakh anganwadi workers in the state are in distress, as they have not received their monthly honorarium in the last five months. The former Siddaramaiah-led state government had increased the monthly honorarium of anganwadi workers and helpers by Rs. 2,000 and 1,000 respectively. With this hike, the anganwadi workers in the state now are now entitled to receive Rs. 8,000 and helpers Rs. 4,000. However, due to the delay in releasing of the grants, honorarium is away from their reach. 

Apart from not getting honorarium, the workers are also complaining about insufficient funds in the Karnataka’s Mathru Poorna scheme. Mathru Poorna Scheme was launched by the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to meet the nutritional needs of the pregnant and the lactating women in rural parts of the state. The programme aimed at providing pregnant and lactating women in rural parts with one nutritious meal daily for 25 days in a month. The anganwadi workers in the state are now saying that since there has been no release of grants for the scheme, they are forced to invest in the scheme from their own pockets. 

Also read: BJP vs Left Front #1: What’s the Record For Anganwadi Workers?

Speaking to Newsclick, Narasimhappa, an activist associated with All India Central Council of Trade Union (AICCTU), confirmed that the workers have not received their wages for last five months. He also said that the workers receive their wages once in three months, and opened a plethora of issues that the anganwadi workers in the state are facing.

Since 1975, the anganwadi workers have been considered as honorarium workers, and as he noted, in last 45 years, there has been no committee that has been set by the governments to address the concerns of the workers. He further explained, “To begin with, they are not looked at as workers at all. They are just the people who come and work in anganwadis till they reach the retirement age (60). They don’t even get any retirement amount or health insurance.” He confirmed that none of them have been paid since February 2018, and they also haven’t been provided with the amount allocated for the rent of the building. 

The state has 67,337 anganwadi centers and according to Narasimhappa, 70 per cent of them are run in the rented buildings, and the remaining 30 per cent of them are run in the government buildings, panchayat halls, temples, mosques, and community centres. The state government provides Rs. 5,000 for renting a pucca hall with a kitchen, bathroom and water facilities; if the anganwadi is being run in a makeshift shed, then the government pays Rs. 3,000 as the rent, and for last five months none of the anganwadis have received the money for rents too.  

Read more: Anganwadi Workers Angry With Budget

The activist questioned, “How and why do you think the owners of the buildings in a city like Bengaluru let any anganwadi function without receiving the monthly rent?” In several instances in the past, the owners have also got the anganwadi centers closed leaving hundreds of children with no primary care and many workers with no employment. Speaking to Newsclick, an anganwadi worker said, “It is not possible to pay the rent at all. We have been told that the money allocated for renting has been released and will be receiving it, but we have not, since February. How should we, whose entire family’s livelihood is dependent on our wages, live? Many of us also live in rented houses and we are unable to pay that rent too. It has become too difficult now.” 

Speaking to Prajavani, Jayamala, minister of women and child development, remarked that the workers will get honorarium and asked the workers to be patient as it is the new government. She also said, “The workers should stop cribbing and instead should submit a written complaint to us.” Reacting to the minister’s remark, Narasimhappa and the anganwadi worker asked, “Isn’t it their duty to ensure that the workers’ issues are addressed?” 

Also read:Broken Promises and Pending Demands: Anganwadi Workers Across the Country Observe Demands’ Day