BENGALURU: Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao met Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) who are protesting at Freedom Park, and assured them that the government would ensure direct credit of Rs. 7,000 to their bank accounts, instead of the existing Rs 5,000. He requested them to withdraw the protest.
However, the ASHA workers have decided to continue their protest, demanding the intervention of the chief minister. Alleging that 50 per cent of the ASHA workers in the state were not getting payment for work done, they demanded delinking of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal from the payment process, and Rs 15,000 as fixed honorarium.
The minister assured them of direct transfer of Rs 7,000 (existing Rs 5,000 honorarium and Rs 2,000 Non-MCTS (Mother and Child Tracking System) together) and said the government is developing software which helps ASHAs to upload their activities themselves, and keep track of the incentives they are entitled to.
“It will make the payment system more transparent,” he said, adding that he would discuss with the chief minister about providing fixed honorarium.
Stating that the health minister’s assurances didn’t meet their demands, the workers decided to continue their protest. Their other demands are to stop insisting on mobile-based work and work without incentive, to consider ASHAs as workers and provide minimum wages, PF, ESI, gratuity benefits, increase honorarium by Rs 2,000 to ASHAs working in cities, etc.