ASHA workers from 35 districts of Madhya Pradesh were on strike for more than a month during July 2021. Their demands were better wages, protective equipment and benefits like life insurance for their service. Laxmi Kaurav, who is our Community Correspondent from the state and also an ASHA worker said an ASHA worker gets only Rs. 32/day for her work while an ASHA associate earns only Rs. 16/day. This adds up to less than Rs. 1000 per month. They are also incentivised for their work. But it is so less that it gets consumed while travelling to the villages and communities ASHAs work in.
More than 44 ASHA workers died during both the COVID-19 waves in India. There is no life or health insurance for ASHA workers. Laxmi, in her interaction with the local media quotes, "The government is ready to compensate us with 50 lakhs when we die, but can't spend on the minimum wages when were are living and working for the welfare of the people,"
ASHA workers in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana and some other states have respectable incomes to the tune of Rs. 18,000 per month. ASHA from Madhya Pradesh and other major states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are demanding that they be paid at par with other states and be given the status of a government employee.
Sign the petition to demand better wages for ASHA workers here.
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