Thiruvananthapuram: The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) has vowed to intensify their ongoing protest seeking payment of pending honorarium, wage hike and other demands in the coming days. As part of the agitation, the protesting ASHA workers will observe a mass hunger strike on March 24 in front of the state secretary. 

Three workers—MA Bindu, R Sheeja, and KP Thankamani launched a hunger strike on March 20, representing thousands of ASHA workers as discussions with government to end the stir turned futile.

On Friday, R Sheeja was rushed to the hospital as her health condition worsened. As doctors advised her to end the fasting, Vattiyoorkkavu native M Sobha replaced her in the hunger strike.

Hundreds of ASHA workers have been protesting outside the Secretariat since February 10, demanding post-retirement benefits and a hike in their honorarium from the existing Rs 7,000 to Rs 21,000. The health workers who played a major role in Kerala during the outbreak of COVID-19 alleged that around 26,000 ASHA workers in Kerala are awaiting the payment of at least two months’ honorarium of ₹7,000 each and three months’ incentives of around ₹5,000 each. ASHA workers also demanded the government to ensure a retirement benefit of ₹5 lakh to them. They are also demanding that the government set fixed working hours, as they are often forced to work more than 12 hours per day.

Seeking action to meet the demands of ASHA workers, Health Minister Veena George will meet Union Health Minister Nadda within a few days.

The ASHA workers’ protest has sparked a silent standoff between the state and central governments, with both blaming each other for delays in honorarium distribution.

Responding to the allegations on pending honorarium and allowance, the LDF government claimed that it had not received any cash grants from the central government under the National Health Mission (NHM) for 2023-24 for payments toward various Centre-sponsored schemes, including ASHA workers' incentives.

However, the central government rejected the state's claim, asserting that it had disbursed the required funds but had not received Kerala's utilisation certificate. It stated that once the certificate is submitted, the necessary funds would be released to ASHA workers and the state. Union Health Minister JP Nadda had also announced in Parliament that the Mission Steering Group of the NHM had decided to increase ASHA workers' incentives.