Incentive hike under consideration, Nadda tells Veena; ASHAs demand ‘solid response’
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New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: State Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday said she discussed the ongoing ASHA workers’ protest and other key issues with Union Health Minister J P Nadda.
"The first agenda of the meeting was the ASHA workers’ protest and their demands. I presented the state’s requirements, including an increase in incentives for ASHA workers. In response, Nadda stated that the incentive hike is currently under consideration. Additionally, the state requested that ASHA workers be reclassified from ‘women volunteers’ to ‘women workers’ so they can be brought under labour laws," George said.
Addressing the media in Delhi, she added, "Since ASHA is a central government scheme, we cannot make changes to the guidelines. Only the central government has the authority to do so. We discussed all these matters in detail."
In addition, the minister raised concerns about the establishment of medical colleges in Kasaragod and Wayanad, highlighted the rising issue of online drug sales, and urged the Centre to expedite the process of allotting an AIIMS for Kerala.
"Overall, we received a positive response from the meeting. The Union Minister assured us that Kerala would get an AIIMS soon," she said.
Meanwhile, responding to George’s statements, M A Bindu, General Secretary of the Kerala Health ASHA Workers’ Association, said the minister’s response did not provide a clear resolution to their concerns.
"Our primary question is why the state government is not increasing the honorarium, which is within its control. The minister has deliberately avoided addressing this. The Centre had previously stated that incentives would be increased, so that is not new information for us. What we want to know is why the state government is not taking steps to raise the honorarium. We have not received a concrete answer from Veena George on this matter," she said.
The meeting came a day after a section of ASHA workers, who have been protesting outside the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram for 51 days, intensified their agitation by cutting their hair in protest.