ASHA workers hold 36-hour protest demanding a hike in wages

The Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers embarked on a 36-hour protest at the Collector’s office here on Friday demanding a hike in their wages. The ASHA workers have been demanding for the last few months to hike their salaries. Demanding the government to concede their demands, the ASHA workers embarked on a 36-hour-long protest. Kakinada City former MLA Vanamadi Kondababu met the agitating ASHA workers at the camp and extended solidarity with them. Addressing the agitating ASHA workers, ex-MLA Kondababu said that Jagan Mohan Reddy assured of doing justice to the ASHA workers during his padayatra but after coming to power he ignored them. Since the prices of essential commodities are spiralling, the government should hike the salaries of ASHA workers, he demanded. ASHA workers extended great services during the Coronavirus pandemic risking their lives, he recalled. The Jagan Reddy government is exploiting the ASHA workers by not paying them salaries proportionate to their work, he regretted. The ex-MLA demanded the government to disburse minimum salary, Rs 10 lakh group insurance, gratuity and pension. He also demanded to provide them other benefits including considering them as government employees. TNTUC district president G Saibaba and Chintalapudi Ravi were among those who took part in the programme.