Asha workers oppose proposal to link them to secretariats
Asha workers from Prakasam district staging a protest in Ongole on Monday
Ongole: The Asha workers in the Prakasam district staged a protest in front of the district Collectorate on Monday and demanded the government to rollback the decision to link them with the ward and village secretariats.
They have also demanded the government to implement the National Health Mission guidelines and provide retirement benefits to them.
Speaking at the protest supported by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions local unit, the Asha Workers Union district general secretary P Kalpana said that the government made the Asha workers ineligible to the welfare workers, just for the reason they are receiving a salary of Rs 10,000 per month.
She said that the Asha workers are also from poor family background and their family members are also working as auto drivers, weavers or even running clothes iron shops. As they are working as the Asha worker, the family members and themselves are ineligible for even pensions and ration cards.
She said that the Asha workers are living an insecure life as they have no work hours, no leaves, no accidental insurance and even not receiving the salary on time. She demanded that the government regularise their service by providing regular salaries and continue the welfare schemes until then.
CITU East Prakasam district general secretary Chikati Srinivasa Rao said that due to the decision of the government to link the Asha workers to the secretariats, they have to work for 2500 to 8000 people, which is against the National Health Mission guidelines to have one Asha worker for every 1000 to 1200 population.
He demanded that the government should provide Rs 3 lakh, 50 per cent of the salary as pension and a job to the family member as retirement benefits to the Asha workers who are extending great service to the public.
The CITU west Prakasam district general secretary M Ramesh said that the union government promised to provide Rs 1000 as special allowance for six months for working during the Covid pandemic, and even announced to provide Rs 50 lakh as an insurance benefit to the kin of the Asha workers who died from Covid, but they were not implemented.
The Asha Workers Union district president I Raghavamma, district leaders Soubhagyam, Venkateswaramma, Jhansi, Durga, Vijay and others also joined the protest.