ASHA workers protest over pay hike

Thousands of ASHA workers from across the state today staged a sit-in protest here seeking continuation the National Rural Health Mission, the second phase of which is set to end in 2017.
The protest was held at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.
According to the protesters, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in 2005 for a 12-year period. Under this, Accredited Social Health Activists workers were instituted as community health workers to facilitate rural population in accessing health services.
"The NRHM has proved to be a boon and helped in bringing down the infant mortality rate. Under this programme, 65,000 ASHA workers across the state have been providing medical services at nominal renumeration," working president of Maharashtra Rajya ASHA Swayamsevika and Samanvayak Mahasangh, Maya Parmeshwar, said.

"However, as the NRHM is set to end in March 2017, the ASHA workers and other medical staff on contract fear that they would soon be rendered jobless. Therefore, we demand that the state government should adopt this central scheme and assure the ASHA workers that their jobs would be intact. The government should also increase the remuneration," she said.
Accusing the government of neglecting them, the protesters said they were overworked but underpaid.

Sarika Jadhav, an ASHA worker from Navi Mumbai said, "We create awareness among rural populace on factors related to health, such as nutrition, sanitation and hygiene, healthy living, but our own condition is pathetic. The government needs to pay heed to our working conditions and offer better facilities and remuneration."

Parmeshwar said, "We demand that there should be a three-fold hike in the remuneration of ASHA workers, who have to carry out 48 different tasks."
The workers submitted a memorandum to the Director Of Health Services of Maharashtra government and he has assured us to take proper action, she added.