ASHA Workers in Haryana Stage a Four-day Protest Demanding Wage Hike and Job Regularisation

More than 22,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Haryana are on a four-day protest under the banner of ASHA workers union from January 27 demanding a hike in monthly wages and job regularisation. As part of the protest, the workers boycotted the three-day long pulse polio drive in the state.

Raising the demands, the workers demonstrated outside the residence of Union Minister of State for Social justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar on Saturday. Job regularisation and revision of minimum wage to Rs. 18,000 were the main demands of the protesting workers. The workers will go for a mass court arrest today, the last day of protest.

Currently, the ASHAs in the state get an honorarium of Rs. 1,000 and very paltry incentives. For last three and half years, there wasn’t a single penny increase in the existing salary, said Surekha GS of ASHA workers union.

Extending support to the protesting workers, Centre of India Trade Unions (CITU) leader Satvir Singh said: ASHAs in Kerala get Rs. 7,500 and ASHAs in Telangana get Rs. 6,000 as a fixed salary. However, the ASHAs in Haryana earn only a meagre amount of Rs. 1,000 per month.

Earlier, on January 17, all scheme workers including the ASHAs, had observed a day nationwide protest. More than 60 lakh workers had come out on the streets to raise their charter of demands. The main demands of the charter were:

1. Implement the recommendations of the 45th ILC on scheme workers including ASHAs: recognition as workers, minimum wages not less than Rs. 18,000 per month and social security including monthly pension not less than Rs. 3,000 to all scheme workers. Give coverage of EPF and ESI to scheme workers.
2. Adequate financial allocation in the Union Budget 2018-2019 for the centrally sponsored schemes including ICDS, MDMS, NHM, SSA, NCLP etc to ensure an increase in wages for the workers to the level of minimum wages and universalization of the schemes with adequate and quality services.
3. No privatization of the schemes in any form and no subversion by way of cash transfer or exclusion of beneficiaries.

ASHAs were deployed as part of the National Rural Health Mission which had constituted under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2005. The activists are meant “to create awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilize the community towards local health planning and increased utilization and accountability of the existing health services.”