ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers under the umbrella of the Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association took out a march to the Assembly on Thursday demanding an increase in their minimum wages to ₹21,000.
The other demands of the ASHA workers included allocation of funds in the Budget to provide them an enhanced minimum wage and the increase in wage for Pulse Polio work from ₹75 to ₹700.
Association president V.K. Sadanandan, who inaugurated the march, said the governments’ failure to implement the Indian Labour Conference recommendation for a minimum wage of ₹21,000 was a challenge to law. For Pulse Polio work, ASHA workers were still being ₹75 that was fixed 10 years ago. How could the Left Democratic Front government ignore the demand to increase it to ₹700, the minimum wage for a day, he asked.
ASHA workers had played a vital role in COVID-19 management. Making cuts in their current paltry honorarium of ₹6,000 in the name of guidelines was inhuman, he said.
Association general secretary M.A. Bindu presided. Its State convener S. Mini spoke. The march which began in front of the Secretariat was stopped by the police near the Assembly.
