Assam: ASHA workers protest to demand four-year salary dues, healthcare benefits

DIBRUGARH: Hundreds of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers protested in front of the joint director of health services office in Dibrugarh on Thursday, seeking fulfilment of their various demands. The ASHA workers, appointed in 2005, have been engaged in providing basic healthcare services to people.
Dibrugarh unit president of the Assam State ASHA Union Jyoti Saikia who led the protest alleged that they were promised a bonus of Rs 12,000 by the state government last year for providing exemplary services during the Covid-19 pandemic, but are yet to be paid. She said since the pandemic broke out, the ASHA workers were tasked with door-to-door surveys, distribution of medicine kits, measuring oxygen level, monitoring containment zones and spreading awareness on vaccines.
“As many as 33,000 ASHA workers across the state have been assisting the government as frontline workers in the fight against the pandemic since the last two years, sometimes even without adequate protective gears. But the government has been oblivious to the issues faced by them. The ASHA workers are paid a nominal monthly remuneration of just Rs 3,000, which is not only insufficient but also inhuman. Even the Rs 12,000 bonus announced by the government in recognition of their services during the pandemic is yet to be disbursed. Our salaries from 2013 to 2017 are also pending,” Saikia said.
The ASHA workers have been seeking permanent appointment similar to those under the National Health Mission, with a minimum monthly salary of Rs 10,000, clearance of arrears from 2013 to 2017, allotment of health cards under Atal Amrit Yojana and Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and withdraw the order to retire those above 60 years.