ASHA workers demand adequate honorarium

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 11 : As in other parts of the country, ASHA workers in Manipur staged a protest at Keishampat Lairembi Community Hall today, demanding an increase of their monthly honorarium to Rs 26,000.
The protesters later took out a march towards the Chief Minister’s Bungalow but were stopped by security forces at Nityaipat Chuthek, near the DIPR office.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the protest, All Manipur ASHA Workers' Union president Th Purnimashi said that ASHA workers have been serving under the Health Department since 2005-06, with their workload increasing significantly from 2008-09 onwards.
She said that ASHA workers initially served only in rural areas but are now deployed in both rural and urban areas.
She added that all ASHA workers are educated and perform a wide range of responsibilities under the Health Department, including promoting maternal and child health, creating awareness about diseases, facilitating immunisation programmes, and providing essential primary healthcare services directly to households.
Recalling the COVID-19 pandemic, Purnimashi said ASHA workers visited patients at their homes despite the risks involved.
While doctors and nurses received incentives of Rs 500 and Rs 400 per day, respectively, during the pandemic, ASHA workers were not given any incentive despite serving as frontline workers, she said.
She further stated that ASHA workers also received no incentive during the 2022-23 Dengue outbreak, even though they were tasked with visiting patients' homes and collecting reports.
She added that the Government has also not released the incentives for ASHA workers who were engaged in the "Health for All" campaign.
Saying that ASHA workers in Manipur receive only Rs 3,000 per month (Rs 1,000 from the State Government and Rs 2,000 from the Central Government) for their services, she added that ASHA workers in States such as Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, however, receive between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 from the State Government's share alone.
She said the Union had recently submitted a memorandum to the State Government seeking an increase of the monthly honorarium but no action has been taken so far.
Even when the Central Government releases its share on time, ASHA workers in Manipur do not receive their honorarium regularly, she added.
Stating that ASHA workers across the country staged protests today demanding that their monthly honorarium be increased to Rs 26,000, Purnimashi urged the Manipur Government to raise the honorarium of ASHA workers in the State to the same amount.
Working president of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Manipur unit, Advocate Kh Shamungou said that ASHA workers have been working under the Health Department for a meagre monthly honorarium of Rs 3,000.
He further stated that ASHA workers do not receive their payments regularly, causing financial difficulties for them.
Questioning how ASHA workers can sustain their lives, let alone support their families, on such a meagre income, he urged the Government to increase their monthly honorarium.
Laishram Sotinkumar, general secretary of AITUC, Manipur also took part in the protest demonstration.