Demanding a fixed monthly honorarium and abolition of ASHA Soft, the Centre’s online payment system, Accredited Social Health Activists from across the State launched a massive indefinite day and night protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Nearly 15,000 ASHAs marched in a procession from the City Railway Station to Freedom Park. The ASHAs are also demanding timely disbursement of their performance-based incentives as most of them have not received payments for three to six months.
Government Order issued
Responding to their demands, the State government on Thursday issued a Government Order sanctioning a fixed honorarium of ₹5,000 to ASHAs with some conditions by clubbing various incentives. However, the workers said this was just eyewash and that they would be earning less than what they are already getting as incentives.
“If we perform the mandatory services as mentioned in the Government Order, our performance-based incentives will be more than the fixed honorarium. We cannot accept this,” said D. Nagalakshmi, secretary, Karnataka State Samyukta ASHA Workers’ Association.
ASHA Soft system
She said the online system, which helps the Health Department capture beneficiary-wise details of services given by ASHAs to the community, and also ensures online payments to their bank accounts, is making life harder for them.
“The beneficiary-wise details that are uploaded by data entry operators is invariably delayed or not done properly owing to which most of us do not get paid on time,” Ms. Nagalakshmi said.
Principal Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Shalini Rajneesh, who admitted that the online payment system was causing problems, said: “ASHAs are entitled to as much as ₹13,000, but owing to technical and administrative difficulties many are not even getting ₹1,500. We will appoint a data entry operator at the taluk level and every ASHA will get ₹5,000 per month, which includes the commitment from both the State and Union government. I will send the proposal for welfare fund scheme for ASHAs to the finance ministry.”
However, not convinced with the government’s proposal, the ASHAs continued their protest even as it rained later in the evening.
