Braving heavy downpours, hundreds of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) gathered at Mahatma Gandhi Marg outside the Odisha Legislative Assembly today to stage a massive demonstration, demanding government employee status and better financial security.
Organised by the Odisha State ASHA Karmi Sangha, an affiliate of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), thousands of workers from across the state joined the protest, shouting slogans against the government despite being drenched in the rain.
Key Demands Included in the 16-Point Charter:
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Government Employee Status: Recognition as permanent government workers rather than volunteers.
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Monthly Salary: A fixed monthly salary of Rs 26,000 instead of the current incentive-based compensation.
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Social Security: A monthly pension of Rs 10,000 upon retirement alongside free health insurance during service.
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Compassionate Appointment: Provision of a government job for a family member in the event of an ASHA worker’s death on duty.
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Workload Reduction: Relief from excessive workloads and an end to deploying ASHA workers for non-health-related duties.
Addressing the gathering, senior CITU leaders highlighted that ASHA workers have been at the forefront of healthcare delivery, serving day and night to reduce maternal and child mortality rates and playing a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic. They condemned the government’s stance of treating these health workers as mere “volunteers” and termed it systemic exploitation.
Union leaders, including Janardan Pati, Ullas Swain, Dushmanta Das, Pradipta Nayak, Ramesh Jena, and Lobhakanta Swain, warned that if the state government fails to take immediate positive steps to address their demands, the union will intensify the strike statewide, which could lead to a complete disruption of primary healthcare services.
A representative delegation later submitted a 16-point memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister and the Health Minister.
