With Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) from across the State on an indefinite strike since January 3, the State Health Department has warned that if they do not get back to work and submit a report within 5 p.m. daily, their monthly honorarium and incentives will be deducted.
Demanding a fixed monthly honorarium of ₹12,000 and pending payment of Mother and Child Tracking System incentive, nearly 20,000 ASHAs from across the State had launched an indefinite strike in Bengaluru on Friday. From Saturday, they have boycotted services in their villages.
While D. Nagalakshmi, secretary of Karnataka State Samyukta ASHA Karyakarteyara Sangha, claimed that the strike had continued successfully in all districts, State health officials said that nearly 90% of the workers had returned to work. There are 41,268 ASHAs in the State.
Maintaining that most demands have been met, Prabhu Dev Gowda, State Nodal Officer for ASHA programme, said: “Most of the workers are convinced. But, there are some districts where the sangha office-bearers are pressurising ASHAs to stay away from work. We have issued a circular warning the ASHAs that if they do not submit a report within 5 p.m. daily to their jurisdictional junior health assistant, their honorarium and incentives will be deducted,” he said. Disputing that most ASHAs had got back to work, Ms Nagalakshmi said: “We are firm this time and will continue our strike till our demands are met completely. When our payments are pending for the last 15 months for work we have done, why will we ask for payment on days that we have not worked?”
