Thiruvananthapuram, June 30 (IANS) The beleaguered Accredited Social Health Activists or Asha Workers, who have been on an indefinite strike since February 10 demanding better pay, retirement benefits and recognition, on Monday announced that they have decided to intensify their protest.

The worker have been holding their day and night protest near the State Secretariat here. Speaking to the media at the protest site, its popular leader M.A. Bindhu said that with the Pinarayi Vijayan government not yet opening their eyes to their long-standing protest, they are launching another stage of protest starting in July.

“Now that the local body polls are round the corner, we are going to reach out to 1,000 local bodies across the state with the message on how this government is failing to come to our rescue,” said Bindhu.

“The fifth stage comes close on the heels when we travelled from Kasargod to here, explaining our demands. In between, we also spent a few days campaigning against the Left candidate ( M. Swaraj) at the Nilambur Assembly by-election (held on June 19),” said Bindhu. Incidentally, Swaraj lost to a Congress candidate.

“Now we are going to approach the 1,000 local bodies… we will hold meetings. Our protest can be linked to the polls also,” added Bindhu.

The Asha Workers are miffed with CM Vijayan over the way they have been treated ever since their indefinite protest began on February 10. The workers have been demanding a hike in their honorarium, besides a sum at the time of their superannuation. However, their demands and the protest have been ignored by the Vijayan government.

On an earlier occasion, the protesting Asha Workers cut their hair, while many of them tonsured their head. This act was a symbolic protest against the state government’s perceived indifference to their demands for increased honoraria and better working conditions.

At present, they are paid Rs 7,000 per month and have demanded that they be paid Rs 21,000 besides a lump sum of Rs five lakh on their retirement at age 62.

The Asha Workers have managed to get huge support from a wide spectrum of society, with people from various walks of life coming to the protest venue to express their solidarity. The agitation was also raised in Parliament, and yet their issues remain unresolved.

–IANS

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