ASHA workers stage protest in Kerala capital, demand better pay
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Over a thousand ASHA workers took to the streets of the state capital on Monday, marching towards the Legislative Assembly in a confrontation with the government.
The women, representing various districts, had been protesting in front of the Secretariat - located just a few kilometres from the Assembly building - for the past 22 days. They raised slogans accusing the government of neglecting their demands for higher honorariums and retirement benefits.
When the police set up barricades a few hundred metres from the Assembly entrance, the protestors sat down and sang songs, reminding the government of their crucial work during the COVID-19 pandemic and their perseverance.
Among the protestors were widows, cancer patients, and those nearing retirement, all hoping the government would relent and meet their demands.
Leader of the Opposition, VD Satheesan, addressed the crowd, accusing the LDF government of ignoring the workers' protest.
“The government is suppressing the protests. Pinarayi Vijayan is not a communist, and his party is not a workers' party, but a capitalist one,” Satheesan said.
Earlier, UDF MLAs raised the issue during the Assembly's Question Hour, and later, Kongad MLA K. Shanthakumari highlighted the matter during a Calling Attention motion.
In response, Health Minister Veena George claimed that 90 per cent of ASHA workers earn between Rs 10,000 and Rs 13,000 per month. She also blamed the central government for not clearing dues for the National Health Mission (NHM).
“The state government has decided to provide honorariums without conditions. The Centre and the state share incentives in a 60:40 ratio. Even when the Centre failed to release funds, the state continued to give incentives to ASHA workers in 2023-24,” Veena stated.
She clarified that because the ASHA scheme is central, the workers are considered volunteers rather than regular employees, so the minimum wage of Rs 700 does not apply to them. She also urged the Opposition to cooperate in securing Rs 600 crore in dues from the Centre for the NHM.
KK Rema, MLA, challenged the minister’s claim that ASHA workers receive up to Rs 13,000 per month and demanded that the Chief Minister engage in talks with the protestors.
The 26,125-strong ASHAs work at the grassroots level for the health department. They get a monthly honorarium of Rs 7,000 (the highest paid by a state in the country) and incentives for implementing various health programmes such as immunisation. The honorarium is paid by the state government, and the incentives are paid by both the Centre and the state.
The women can work till the age of 62. However, the workers complained that the compensation was too low, conditional, and irregular. When the strike was launched in February, the state government had not cleared the dues for three months from November. A week ago, all the dues, including honorariums and incentives, were cleared. The protestors also demand that they receive a retirement benefit of Rs 5 lakh.
Earlier, they staged protests in Parliament against the central government for not clearing the incentive dues. The state government resorted to pressure tactics using the police and health departments during the protest.