Not paid for 2 months, ASHAs to hold online protest tomorrow

Health Commissioner K.V. Trilok Chandra says issue will be resolved by Monday

Over 42,000 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in the State, who have been working tirelessly at the forefront of the battle against the pandemic, have not been paid their honorarium for the last two months. Moreover, they have been working without basic protection gear such as masks and face shields, let alone PPEs. D. Nagalakshmi, State secretary of Karnataka Rajya Samyukta ASHA Karyakartheyara Sangha affiliated to All India United Trade Union Centre, said the workers had not been paid for March and April. “If the payment is not made in another week, it will be three months without the meagre ₹4,000 fixed honorarium for us,” she said. Pointing out that repeated requests to the State health officials to clear the pending payment had resulted only in assurances, Ms. Nagalakshmi said the sangha will stage an online protest and social media campaign on May 24.