As part of the nation-wide protest, the district unit of Karnataka Rajya Samyukta ASHA Karyakarteyara Sangha affiliated to the All-India United Trade Union Congress staged a protest demanding increase in wages and fixed working hours along with retirement benefits for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), in Kalaburagi city on Wednesday.
Hundreds of ASHA workers and anganwadi workers took out a protest march from Jagat circle to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk.
S.M. Sharma, district president of the sangha, demanded that the government regularise the services of ASHA workers and pay minimum wages of ₹18,000 per month. At present, they were being paid ₹3,000 per month.
He said that nearly one crore women were employed as ASHA workers under various programmes across the country. Of them, 27 lakh workers were engaged in Integrated Child Development Scheme, around 10 lakh workers in National Rural Health Mission programme, and 28 lakh workers in Midday Meal Scheme. Most of the workers are from weaker sections of society, he said.
The health activists were living in pitiable conditions in rural areas, without job security and fixed salary for the last 10 years, Mr. Sharma said.
In Chitradurga
ASHA workers took out a procession and staged a dharna outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office, urging fulfilment of various demands, including payment of minimum wages, pension facility, ESI and PF benefits.
They alleged that the Union government has not taken steps to fulfil their demands even after submitting several memoranda. The agitators submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner V.V. Jyothsna and said that their protest would be intensified if the Centre failed to meet their demands.
In Belagavi
The Federation of ASHA Workers and Federation of Akshara Dasoha Midday Meal Workers took out a protest from Rani Channamma circle to the Deputy Commissioner’s office. They demanded that their services be regularised and sought a minimum salary of ₹18,000 per month.
State committee member of Socialist Unity Centre of India Ramanjanappa Aldalli said the government was expected to be a model employer, but was acting like a profit-oriented enterprise by employing nearly one crore workers on temporary basis and by paying them honorarium.
Meanwhile, the Anganwadi Workers’ and Helpers’ Federation also took out a protest rally on Wednesday, demanding cancellation of the Mathru Poorna Scheme and increase in wages. They said that the scheme of providing meals to pregnant women had failed as they were not coming to anganwadi centres. The scheme should be cancelled and the previous system of distribution of foodgrains should be restored, they said.
In Vijayapura
Thousands of ASHA, midday meal and anganwadi workers took out a protest rally. In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister through the district administration, all the members under the banner of All-India United Trade Union Centre demanded that the Union government fix a minimum salary of ₹18,000. Despite working in important fields, the successive governments have not met their demand for hike in salary, they said.
In the 45th Indian Labour Congress held in 2013 in Delhi, a resolution was passed to consider the labourers as workers in order to fix a minimum wage for them. The resolution was submitted to the then Union government, which accepted it but did not take any decision, they said.
