BENGALURU: Thousands of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers gathered at Freedom Park here on Tuesday for the indefinite strike urging the government to fulfill their various demands. These workers who are the face of the healthcare delivery in rural and urban areas are urging the government to give a fixed monthly honorarium of Rs 15,000, along with an additional Rs 2,000 for city-based ASHA workers to meet their rising living costs.
Members of Karnataka State United ASHA Workers Union (Karnataka Rajya Samyukta Asha Karyakarteyara Sangha) affiliated to All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) said that there is no question of withdrawing the protest until their demands are met by the government.
Speaking to TNIE, State Secretary of AIUTUC, D Nagalakshmi said, “ASHA workers are the backbone of the healthcare delivery in Karnataka fighting against diseases, malnutrition, child mortality and taking care of maternal health. They play a crucial role in implementing various central and state government health programs. However, they do not have a fixed honorarium. Hence, our major demand is to fix a monthly honorarium of Rs 15,000.”
She said that they have been fighting for fair treatment for nearly a decade, and lamented that their protests and demands have not been considered yet. Recalling the protest in February 2024, Nagalakshmi said they withdrew the protest after assurance from CM Siddaramaiah. “We went back with an assurance that our demands will be met. Since then, multiple high-level meetings have been held but our demands haven’t been met,” she said.
The State Secretary of SUCI (Communist) said that the state government, which proclaims to be pro-woman, tried to suppress the workers, and that they would be removed from their jobs if they took part in the indefinite protest.
Releasing pending salaries, increasing retirement benefit to Rs 5 lakh, considering ASHA workers as government employees, providing ESI and PF, providing smartphones for mobile based works, annual comprehensive health checkups and free treatment for serious illness are among the other demands.