Not all the government employees enjoy the perks and benefits offered by the state. There are several thousands of employees and private workers hired by the government who work for petty wages as low as Rs. 500 per month.
Accredited Social Health Activists (Asha Workers or volunteers), a community health workers instituted by the government of India’s ministry of health and family welfare as part of the National Rural Health Mission, are hired by their respective state governments for as cheap as Rs. 500 per month.
However, the job assigned to these Asha workers is nothing ordinary. Asha workers, most of them SCs, BCs and from other economically poor families, must regularly follow up pregnant ladies in their villages and join them in government hospitals for deliveries.
Asha workers are paid their meagre monthly salaries of Rs. 500 only if they manage to convince pregnant ladies to opt for public health centres and hospitals for their periodical check ups and deliveries. Also, Asha workers will have to follow a new born baby’s health for at least a year and get the babies vaccinated on time.
Amidst such challenges, thousands of Asha workers from several districts have been revolting against the government authorities demanding to hike their salaries to Rs. 15,000 and to give them health and insurance benefits and recognize them as Auxiliary Nurses and Midwives (ANMs).
