इस देश की आशा कार्यकर्ता अपनी मांग को लेकर एक साथ आई हैं।
The ASHA Workers of India have come together to make these demands. Please read and endorse it, if you agree with us. Also, kindly forward it to all ASHA workers in your contact. We want this letter to have the names of thousands of ASHAs and active citizens.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdmp5FImpa2Gi5qhbmxweKaiaGOMf8uJTjBQh4Wp6Sodo0N_A/viewform
To,
The Prime Minister
And Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare
Government of India
Ensure dignity, protection and fair remuneration of ASHA’s – India’s Frontline Health Workers.
Namaste,
At the outset, we hope that you and your family is safe and healthy during this challenging period. We, the ASHA (Accredited Social Health Advocates) workers, through this letter, are seeking your kind attention and action, to ensure dignity of our profession, the physical safety of our being and rightful and lawful wages.
There are more than 9 lakh of us in this entire country helping the communities to be safe and resilient to live through this Pandemic.
We are currently receiving very low performance-based incentives and rewards. Amounts vary from state to state and we earn about Rs.3000 or less a month for tasks that take between 4 to 7 hours a day. For Covid prevention, tracing and vaccination work we are paid Rs.1000 a month. Unlike what you may be informed, this work takes an average 5 hours everyday. The rates are an affront to standards of minimum wages and is nothing short of exploitation. In many states, even these ‘meagre incentives’ and ‘honorariums’ are yet to be paid. In the case of non-attendance due Covid infection or other disease, our payment is deducted. Not only that, our service is automatically considered terminated if the absence is more than 3 months. You can imagine what a pregnant ASHA worker must go through.
Most work orders are given orally because of which often remuneration is denied to us because there is no record of the work order. We are asked to carry out Covid-19 related work on government holidays including Sundays. While other employees get additional incentive money for this, we ASHA workers are denied this because orders are oral. Moreover, statistics show that in all states of the country, a large number of vacancies in the appointment of ASHA workers overburden a tiny and valiant workforce. In fact, you may be surprised to know that some of India’s hardest hit Covid-19 districts in 2020 had the most number of ASHA vacancies. This ranged from 83% vacancy in Jalgaon, Maharashtra to 64% in Mumbai and 20% in Indore.
In this Covid pandemic we are doing community awareness at door steps, household level surveys and also checking for Covid symptoms and motivating people for RTPCR / antigen tests. We are compelled to do this at substantial risk because we are not given adequate protective gears and equipment. Also as forefront warriors in the public health system, we are not given benefits under labour laws suchs leaves or maternity benefits. Because we are not included as employees of the Government, we are not given the benefits of central schemes or social security. There is no basis for denying us benefits that regular female employees are entitled to. The least we deserve is rights and legal protection and treated as regular employees who enjoy a dignified wage, health and work-place benefits and allowances.
We were assured an insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package but most of us have not gotten any benefits or enrolled. This is a serious threat to our safety. We are doing utmost risky work during this pandemic and we are not only risking ourselves but also the health and life of our family members. As you know, we are from vulnerable communities and our families are severely affected by lockdowns and curfews. Please bear in mind that many of us have died doing our work.
We had put forward our demands multiple times to several state, district and block level officials including Ministers and Chief Ministers, but all fell on deaf ears. We are well aware that our work and payments come from both the Centre and the State government and very often one blames the other for the issues we have raised above. We are made to run from pillar to post because of this. Please note that this is not our problem but rather for you and your counterparts in various states to solve and fix.
We hope that your response and actions will be different from our earlier experiences and that you will consider our demands favorably.
Below are our 11 demands –
1. We demand that our wages be fixed at a minimum of Rs.18,000 (Eighteen thousand) for ASHA Workers and Rs.24,000 for ASHA Supervisors per month. States may vary their remunerations packages but should NOT be less than the said amounts. Additional expenses like mobile bill, stationery charges , etc., must be reimbursed since we have multiple paperwork to handle.
2. Every work and task assigned to an ASHA must be in writing and officially recorded. Orally assigning work must stop immediately. And an ASHA should not be made to carry out tasks for any other department other than health. For example, she should not be assigned election duty, school exam duty etc.
3. Every ASHA must be given adequate training by health experts, particularly epidemiologists so that they can give proper service to their communities. Besides, all necessary medicines should be available in sufficient quantities so that we can give primary health care to our communities.
4. Government MUST provide us with thermal guns, oximeters, facial shields, sanitizers, gloves and other PPE for our personal protection.
5. Making us work without adequate PPE must be considered as a criminal offence.
6. We demand 26 weeks leave during pregnancy under the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961.
7. The benefit of all government holidays and weekly holidays should be ensured to us.
8. We demand that every one of us is immediately insured for Rs.50 Lakhs for as long as long as we are made to work under the Mission and that the term of our insurance NOT be limited to the duration of the Pandemic..
9. We demand that the Union Government make a provision to give an additional Rs.10,000 per month as risk allowance till the period of lockdowns and restrictions continue.
10. We regularly expose ourselves to infections, it is quite likely that we will very soon need medical care ourselves. Though most of us are vaccinated, it is likely that we will fall sick given all the new variants. We therefore demand that a hospital bed be assured for us if the occasion arises. Our medical care should be prioritised and we should be ensured a bed and care. The government must also ensure that we would be shifted and treated at a private hospital in case there is no availability in a government hospital. Adequate compensation should be given to our families if something happens to us in the course of our Covid-19 duty.
11. Recognise our contribution to the well being of India’s women and children, in particular our fight against Covid-19 by regularising our work and by appointing us as government employees . This will give us much required social security and help us avail the many benefits of Government schemes.
We are patriots and front line medical health workers. We need to get recognised, not only for who we are, but also for our services.
This letter is written and signed by below mentioned ASHAs of India and supported by several of our brothers and sisters in civil society who have joined our rightful demands.
Jai Hind
Yours Truly,
India’s ASHA Workers and our well wishers
इस देश की आशा कार्यकर्ता अपनी मांग को लेकर एक साथ आई हैं।
The ASHA Workers of India have come together to make these demands. Please read and endorse it, if you agree with us. Also, kindly forward it to all ASHA workers in your contact. We want this letter to have the names of thousands of ASHAs and active citizens.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdmp5FImpa2Gi5qhbmxweKaiaGOMf8uJTjBQh4Wp6Sodo0N_A/viewform
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