ASHA volunteers call Rs 1,000 pay hike an ‘insult’, vow to intensify protest
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links. Terming the Kerala government’s decision to raise their honorarium by Rs 1,000 as an “insult,” protesting Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) volunteers have vowed to intensify their struggle. On Wednesday, October 29, the government announced that the monthly honorarium for ASHA volunteers would be increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000.In a sharp response, the Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association (KAHWA), which has been leading the state-wide agitation, said that by raising their pay by only Rs 33 per day, the government has once again insulted the poor frontline workers. "It is also highly objectionable that the government did not even mention the key demand for retirement benefits,” they said. The ASHA volunteers have been on strike for over 260 days, since February 10, demanding for a raise in their monthly honorarium to Rs 21,000 and for timely disbursal of payments within the first week of every month, and retirement benefits. Despite the disappointment, the KAHWA has welcomed the increment achieved through a sustained campaign. Promising to continue their protest, they said, “The struggle will continue with greater strength.”“The government’s announcement of an increase in the honorarium for ASHA workers confirms that the demands raised by the protest committee were valid. This is also a direct response from the government to the widespread propaganda that the honorarium need not be paid by the state government,” the Association said. KAHWA president VK Sadanandan said a state committee meeting will soon be convened to decide the next phase of their protest.Earlier this week, the ASHA workers had publicly appealed to actors Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Kamal Haasan not to attend the state government’s November 1 event declaring Kerala “extreme poverty free,” arguing that thousands of ASHAs surviving on Rs 233 a day are themselves among the “extremely poor.”
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
TERMING the Kerala government’s decision to raise their honorarium by Rs 1,000 as an “insult,” protesting Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) volunteers have vowed to intensify their struggle.
On Wednesday, October 29, the government announced that the monthly honorarium for ASHA volunteers would be increased from Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000.
In a sharp response, the Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association (KAHWA), which has been leading the state-wide agitation, said that by raising their pay by only Rs 33 per day, the government has once again insulted the poor frontline workers.
"It is also highly objectionable that the government did not even mention the key demand for retirement benefits,” they said.
The ASHA volunteers have been on strike for over 260 days, since February 10, demanding for a raise in their monthly honorarium to Rs 21,000 and for timely disbursal of payments within the first week of every month, and retirement benefits.
Despite the disappointment, the KAHWA has welcomed the increment achieved through a sustained campaign. Promising to continue their protest, they said, “The struggle will continue with greater strength.”
“The government’s announcement of an increase in the honorarium for ASHA workers confirms that the demands raised by the protest committee were valid. This is also a direct response from the government to the widespread propaganda that the honorarium need not be paid by the state government,” the Association said.
KAHWA president VK Sadanandan said a state committee meeting will soon be convened to decide the next phase of their protest.
Earlier this week, the ASHA workers had publicly appealed to actors Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Kamal Haasan not to attend the state government’s November 1 event declaring Kerala “extreme poverty free,” arguing that thousands of ASHAs surviving on Rs 233 a day are themselves among the “extremely poor.”
