BANGALORE: Demanding fixed monthly remunerations and confirmation as permanent employees, members of Karnataka State ASHA Workers Federation (KSAWF) affiliated to Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) staged a protest near Freedom Park on Saturday.Around 38,000 ASHA workers were appointed under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2010 to serve in the rural districts across the State.“ASHA workers are entrusted with the work of checking out houses and deliver medicines for people in need, reach for the expectant mothers and take them to hospitals.But they are not getting their due,” said N Shivanna, General Secretary, KSAWF.“For the past few months ASHA workers are not getting their monthly salary ,incentives, which are paid based on their work performance and travel expenses.Every time the workers cannot give from their pockets.This has been one of the main reasons for which around 9,000 workers have already left the work,” he added.Besides monthly salary, ASHA workers should be provided with livelihood and social security through ESI and provident fund benefits, Shivanna stressed.Meanwhile Anant Subbarao, State General Secretary, AITUC, while addressing the gathering voiced similar opinion and said that even during the budget, ASHA workers were not taken into consideration.Later, the Federation submitted a memorandum demanding monthly salary and other benefits for the ASHA workers to the chief minister.More than 2,000 ASHA workers from across the State took part in the protest in order to press forward their demand.
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