Thiruvananthapuram: The government has withheld one month’s honorarium of ASHA workers who participated in the Secretariat blockade protest. There is widespread protest over the withholding of one month’s honorarium for participating in a one-day strike. The honorarium of 146 people in Alappuzha district has been withheld.
The government’s retaliation continues along with insulting the striking ASHA workers. The honorarium of those who participated in the blockade protest organized in front of the secretariat in continuation of the day-night strike was withheld. The honorarium of those who participated in the one-day strike in February was not paid. In Alappuzha, the honorarium of 146 people who participated in the strike was withheld and the rest were paid. The ASHAs who did not receive the money filed a complaint with the District Program Manager.
There are complaints that those who participated in the blockade in other districts, including Thiruvananthapuram, have not been paid. Even as the strike approaches fifty days, there has been no move by the government to reach a compromise. Even as the day-and-night strike by the ASHA workers approaches fifty days, the government has not called the strikers for a discussion. While the government was ignoring it, the members of the Vechuchira Panchayat Administrative Committee, which had initially decided to increase the wages of the ASHAs, reached the protest site and expressed their support. Congress leader VM Sudheeran was also present.
