Darjeeling, 11th September: ASHA workers organized a rally in Darjeeling today, expressing various demands, including salary increases. The procession commenced from the Railway Station and converged at Chowk Bazaar, where demonstrators halted traffic briefly before gathering at the Darjeeling District Hospital while chanting slogans.
Sarika Rai, an ASHA worker, emphasized that the honorarium they receive is inadequate, standing at just Rs 4,500, despite the significant workload they shoulder. She also pointed out that the incentives they receive are both delayed and lower compared to their counterparts in the plains. Ishmati Ara Kahtun, the union state secretary, expressed their sense of deprivation by the state government.
Under the banner of the Paschim Banga ASHA Karmi Union, the program submitted a list of demands to hospital authorities. Their requests included uniform provision, relief from PMMVY (Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana) duties, immediate resumption of incentive payments, increased honorarium and incentives for ASHA employees, issuance of smartphones for online tasks, punctual incentive and mobile recharge disbursements, travel allowances for additional duties, spectrum, and training.
The list of demands also called for ASHA employees to be granted holidays similar to government employees, maternity leave, life insurance, and PF benefits. The union has issued a warning to initiate a pen-down strike beginning on October 06 if their demands remain unmet.