CITU State unit president Anathalavattom Anandan addressing ICPS employees union in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA
The State government should immediately intervene to restore the salaries of employees working in the State Child Protection Society under the Women and Child Development department, CITU State unit president Anathalavattom Anandan has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating a dharna at the Secretariat organised by the society’s contract employees, who deal with issues related to safety, protection, and rehabilitation of vulnerable children, here on Thursday. The society has been set up under the WCD department for implementing the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), now Mission Vatsalya.
Mr. Anandan said the employees, under the banner of the Kerala ICPS Employees’ Union (CITU), resorted to protest because their pay had been slashed by nearly half by the government.
The union held talks with Minister for Women and Child Development Veena George and higher officials in this regard. “The government has the responsibility to intervene when the salary of its staff was cut. Else, the child protection mechanism in the State would be thrown into disarray and children would suffer. Who would answer if there is a lapse? Employees ensuring children’s safety should not be meted out this treatment. A solution must be found.”
More than 40 employees, with long years of service, had quit because they were not even getting minimum wages for the past seven months. The families of the employees were also suffering, he pointed out.
The annual contracts of the employees were not renewed in time, forcing them to work on daily wages. Even pregnancies and deliveries had to be planned according to their contract period.
Mr. Anandan warned that the employees would go on an indefinite strike from May 15 if their demands were not met by then.
CITU State vice-president S. Pushpalatha, Kerala ICPS Employees’ Union vice-president Manitha Maithri, secretary Deepa K. and joint secretary Muhammed Nishad addressed the employees.
Ahead of the dharna, the protesters took out a rally from Martyrs’ Column to the Secretariat.