Telangana ASHA workers seek release of pending July honorariums

More than 28,000 ASHA workers in Telangana have urged the State government to release their pending July honorariums, alleging that payments were not credited despite disbursal. The union also reiterated demands for a higher salary, social security benefits and job security.

Hyderabad: Over 28,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers on Wednesday urged the State government to immediately release unpaid honorariums for the month of July.

While the honorarium payments for July were disbursed on August 3, a large number of ASHA workers in districts reported their dues were not credited to their bank accounts.

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On Tuesday, Telangana ASHA Workers union (affiliated to CITU), submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Health Minister, Damodar Rajanarasimha, demanding immediate government intervention to resolve the payment delays.

The union criticized the selective non-payment and termed this practice as unfair to healthcare personnel who form the primary backbone of the state’s rural and urban public health delivery systems.
State president, Telangana ASHA Workers Union, P. Jayalaxmi along with General Secretary, R. Neela Devi and others urged the State government to resolve the administrative glitches and establish a streamlined disbursement system.

The ASHA workers reiterated their long-standing demand for the implementation of a fixed monthly salary of Rs 18,000 from the existing honorarium of Rs 9,900 per month, along with statutory Provident Fund (PF), Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) coverage, and job security.

The ASHA workers said delays in honorariums is impacting the motivation and warned they will be forced to escalate agitations unless the State government addressed their issues.