Telangana ASHA workers stage dharnas demanding Rs 18,000 fixed salary

ASHA workers in Telangana staged a dharna at the Commissioner of Health office, demanding a fixed monthly salary of Rs 18,000, pending PF and ESI benefits, and improved working conditions. They warned of boycotting ongoing healthcare programmes.

Hyderabad: The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers drawn from various parts of Telangana on Monday participated in a massive dharna at the Commissioner of Health office, Koti. Demanding immediate implementation of Rs 18, 000 fixed monthly income, which was a poll promise by the Congress government, the ASHA workers raised slogans and threatened to boycott various health care initiatives under implementation in the State.

Since the formation of the Congress Government, the ASHA workers in Telangana have conducted multiple protests demanding the implementation of their central demand of a fixed monthly salary of Rs 18, 000.

“The State government must immediately introduce the bill to implement a fixed monthly income of Rs 18,000 to all ASHA workers in the upcoming budget session in the assembly. It has been over two years since the Congress party came to power, and it is high time that they implement their poll promise,” said P Jayalakshmi, state president, Telangana ASHA Workers Union, which is spearheading the protests.

The ASHA workers have also pointed out that the State government has failed to fulfil its other pre-election promises of implementing benefits like Provident Fund (PF) and Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) for field-level health care workers.

Some of the other issues that ASHA workers are raising include addressing the issue of excessive workload with unrealistic daily targets, delay in receiving pending payments, job security, retirement benefits and paid leaves on Sundays and national holidays.

A year ago, in December, a huge protest at Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare office, Koti, led to a severe confrontation between ASHA workers and police personnel. During those protests, several field-level workers were seriously injured and had to be admitted to OGH for treatment.