One of the ways in which the LDF government in Kerala projects the insignificance of the ongoing ASHA agitation is to draw attention to the relatively weak influence of Kerala ASHA Health Workers Association (KAHWA), the union that is leading the struggle. A constant refrain of ministers is this: On strike are just a fraction of the 26,000-odd ASHAs in Kerala.

KAHWA is definitely a smaller union compared to the ASHA workers' unions led by CITU (CPM), INTUC (Congress), AITUC (CPI), and Swatantra Thozhilali Union (Muslim League). But the ASHA agitation has grown bigger than the KAHWA. An increasing number of ASHA workers are keeping aside their union affiliations to openly support the nearly two-month long agitation in front of Secretariat. 

The biggest embarrassment has been suffered by the biggest union, the CITU. On Monday, four Thrissur-based ASHA workers affiliated to the CITU were removed from its membership for visiting the agitating ASHAs in Thiruvananthapuram. 

Reji, Mary Jose, Mary Deepthi and Suja Pramod are the four ASHAs thrown out of the CITU on Monday. Two of them are attached to the Ollookkara Primary Health Centre and the other two work from the Kacheri Urban Health Centre. They came as a party of six ASHAs, two of whom were not associated with the CITU.

Their presence at the protest site on Sunday, April 6, was revealed in a news channel clip. "On the way back from Thiruvananthapuram, they started receiving calls from the JHI (junior health inspector)," said Sunitha, a non-CITU member in the visiting team. 

It was Reji who got the call. "I did not want to lie nor did I think there was anything wrong in saying that we came to express our solidarity with the agitating ASHAs. After all, these poor women are putting their lives at risk for people like us. Shouldn't we come here at least once," Reji told Onmanorama.

"I told the JHI that I was in Thiruvananthapuram, visiting the protest site," she said. Later, she came to know that the JHI had called her after seeing them on the news channel.

The JHI wanted to know whether she had given a letter to the medical officer stating the purpose of her visit. "I asked him why should we when it was a Sunday. Can't we take a holiday? He did not say anything, just cut the call," Reji said.

ASHAs are as much under the control of the administration as persons out on bail. A junior public health nurse based in Thrissur said that ASHAs were not supposed to leave their districts without informing a senior officer. Reji confirmed the existence of such a restriction. "Even if it is for a marriage or death, we have to inform the JHI," Reji said.

There was an element of defiance in their visit. Fact is, except Reji, the other three women had visited the protest site before. "We did all our work and kept a day free to visit the protest site a fortnight ago. Even other ASHAs in our team did not notice," said Suja Pramod, who has now been expelled from the CITU. This time, they were exposed by the news clipping. Suja said that she had seen ASHAs from various districts, people she knew from CITU gatherings, at the protest site on the two days she visited.

"How can we remain at home when those ASHAs suffer the sun and the rain and the apathy of the government for our sake. We don't have the money to travel but still we will keep on visiting them whenever possible," said Mary Jose, another expelled ASHA.

Their sacking was announced in the local CITU WhatsApp group. "The list of CITU members were newly published in the group and our names were not there," Suja said. There was also an audio clip from the local leader, another ASHA. "In it, she said that the decision was not personal and that it was handed down from the top leadership," Suja said.

A top CITU leader Onmanorama talked to said that the action was taken to set an example. "The CITU has taken the stand that the issue can be resolved only by the Centre. We expect our members to abide by it. Indiscipline will not be tolerated," the leader said.

However, the expulsion has not affected their work, at least till now. All the four were in the field, two of them doing palliative care. "I don't think we will lose our jobs. There are at least six ASHAs among us who are not part of any unions," Mary Jose said.

Nonetheless, Reji has a concern. "We contribute Rs 100 every month to a fund from which all of us can loan a small amount for emergencies. Since we have lost our membership, I don't know what will happen to the money we had contributed," she said.