Kerala ASHA Health Workers' Association (KAHWA) fired off a letter to the state programme officer of National Health Mission on Tuesday terming as "unlawful" the move to deny agitating ASHA workers honorarium and incentives for the days they had carried out their duties.

The letter also called this payment denial an "act of revenge." The letter also warned of "strong protest measures" if the wages were not paid. The letter comes a day after the protesting ASHA workers demonstrated their anger against the LDF government by cutting their hair.

"We began our day-night agitation on February 10 and then struck work from February 20 after issuing legal notices. Though ASHAs have submitted the reports of the work they had performed till then, they have been denied wages. As for those who have received their wages, their payment has been cut to the bare minimum after effecting deductions on the basis of conditions that were supposedly taken out," the letter said.

This was a reference to the March 12 order issued by the Health and Social Welfare Department removing the condition that ASHAs had to do at least five of the ten tasks assigned to them to receive their full honorarium of Rs 7,000. Honorarium payment, in short, was made unconditional.

The letter, signed by KAHWA state president V K Sadanandan and general secretary M A Bindu, said that complaints of non-payment had come from at least 28 centres spread over various districts. As an example, the letter cited Kannammoola, Vembayam, Vattiyoorkavu, Palode, Thiruvallam, and Peringammala (Thiruvananthapuram); Kulasekharapuram, Thenmala and Vallikkavu (Kollam); Nanniyodu, Kumaramputhur, and Outhur (Palakkad); Kottayam, Panachikkad, Mundakkayam, Ettumanoor, Pala, Kuruvalangad, and Parathod (Kottayam).

"Our understanding is that there are no standing orders to deny us our wages. That is why this act of revenge against ASHAs for participating in a legal and peaceful agitation becomes all the more serious," the letter states. "We are informing you that denying even the little that we are legally entitled to will cause us significant trauma," it says.