ASHA workers stage silent protest

Secunderabad: Around 150 ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers of Secunderabad Cantonment along with SCB social worker, T Satish Gupta staged a silent protest on Monday outside the Picket Dispensary in demanding a raise in their salaries and for their permanent posts.

According to the Asha workers, neither were they paid for the past three months nor were they provided with Covid safety kits.

"Asha workers have been involved with vaccination drive and monitoring health of home-quarantine patients for more than a year now. We are going to their houses and checking up on health parameters. For the past three months we were not paid salaries and no safety kits has been provided to us. So we are demanding from the state government to pay us our salaries and allot us permanent post", said N Sunita, a Asha worker.

"Despite that we are working for long hours, we are not given any insurance and job security. We are completely dependent on the wages. In this situation how can we manage our families without wages. Main times we have requested the concern officials regarding our pending salary but all pleading is in vain," said T Shirisha , another Asha worker.

"'The current salary of Asha workers is Rs 7000 that should be increased. We urge the State government and cantonment authorities to take steps to permanent them in their jobs and if anything happens to their life then government should declare Rs 51 lakhs of ex-gratia to their families. I also request the concern authorities to pay the pending salaries a soon as possible, "said T Satish Gupta, a social activist.