ASHA workers stage protest in Dibrugarh seeking fair wages

A CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: Hundreds of accredited social health activists (ASHA) protested on Monday in Dibrugarh's Chowkidinghee, demanding higher wages and other benefits. The ASHA workers raised slogan against the government for failure to increase their wages.

Talking to the reporters, Dibrugarh district unit president of the Assam State ASHA Union, Jyoti Saikia said, "It is a long pending demand but till date the government has failed to address our genuine demand. Our wages should be increased, but no increase has occurred to date. We are facing numerous problems to run our family." There are approximately 33,000 ASHA workers in the state who are paid Rs 3,000 per month. The ASHA workers have been seeking permanent appointment similar to the workers under the National Health Mission, minimum monthly salary of Rs 10,000, clearance of arrears in salary which is pending from 2013 to 2017, allottment of health cards to every ASHA worker under Atal Amrit Yojana and Ayushman Bharat Yojana and extension of jobs for ASHA workers who have attained 60 years.

"The ASHA workers are paid a nominal monthly remuneration of Rs 3,000 which is not only insufficient but also inhuman. There are no holidays, casual or earned leaves. There is no medical leave. In Dibrugarh district alone there are around 3,300 ASHA workers. During the fight against Covid-19, our ASHA workers did an exemplary job from door-to-door surveys to distributing medicine kits, measuring oxygen saturation, monitoring containment zones and spreading awareness about vaccines. However, despite our best efforts we are being neglected. We urge the government to look into the issues faced by us," Saikia said.

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