Health min to meet protesting ASHA workers today

Thiruvananthapuram: Health minister Veena George will hold discussions on Thursday with ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers, who are staging a protest demanding an increase in the honorarium, retirement benefits and other requirements.
The move comes after the minister met Union health minister JP Nadda in New Delhi on Tuesday. Nadda told her that the Centre will consider increasing its share of the honorarium given to workers selected to work under National Health Mission, a central govt scheme.
Mini S, a leader of the ASHA workers association, said the meeting will be around 3pm. Congress trade union INTUC and CPM trade union CITU will also participate in the meeting.
"We will put forward our demands to increase the honorarium for which we are protesting. The workers will intensify the protest if the demand isn't met," she said.
Though the state govt held discussions with protesters twice before, it failed to reach any agreement as authorities made it clear that it was not practically possible for them to accept their demands due to their financial constraints.
Hundreds of ASHA workers have been staging protests in front of the secretariat and districts since Feb 10. Many of them cut their hair on Monday in an emotional gesture of defiance against the state government's alleged "indifference" to their demands.
With inputs from Agencies