Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 22 (IANS) A section of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers in Kerala, who have been on protest for the last 256 days demanding higher honorariums and post-retirement benefits, escalated their agitation on Wednesday by marching to Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The day was chosen as President Droupadi Murmu was here on a four-day state visit.

The ASHA workers had recently brought their woes before President Murmu through a representation.

The ASHA workers, led by the Kerala ASHA Health Workers Association (KAHWA), had been staging a sit-in outside the state secretariat since the start of their protest early this year. But on Wednesday, hundreds of protesters broke through multiple police barricades and faced water cannons as they tried to reach the Chief Minister’s residence.

The demonstrators raised slogans accusing the Left government of ignoring their long-pending demands. Their key demands include increasing their state-paid honorarium from Rs 7,000 to Rs 21,000 per month and providing a post-retirement benefit of Rs 5 lakh.

“ASHA workers are the backbone of the primary health system, but we continue to be treated like daily wage workers,” said one of the protesters.

The agitation comes despite a state government-appointed committee recommending, in August, a modest increase of Rs 3,000 in the honorarium and a post-retirement benefit of Rs one lakh, far short of the workers’ demands. The issue also ties in with Central government initiatives.

In the evening, the protesters who intensified the protest before the Cliff House claimed that when the police tried to snatch the mike which they were using, a melee broke out.

Angry ASHA workers resisted and the police forcefully took away several protesters.

“Several of us been forcefully removed and taken away in police jeeps. We are not going to be cowed down by there actions. On Thursday, we have decided to observe as a total protest day over the way the police have targeted us today. I was beaten by a lady police official,” said an ASHA worker .

In July, the Centre decided to increase the fixed monthly incentive paid to ASHA workers. During the 9th meeting of the Mission Steering Group (MSG), it approved a hike from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,500 and proposed enhanced retirement benefits.

However, the protesting workers argue that these measures are inadequate. They point out that rising living costs and the nature of their work, which includes door-to-door healthcare, maternal care, and community-level disease prevention, demand fair wages and social security.

As the protest enters its ninth month, pressure is mounting on the state government to find a negotiated settlement as the local body polls are round the corner and the assembly polls early next year.

–IANS

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