ASHA Sanyukt Sangharsh Manch Bihar State Convention
ASHA Workers Announce Indefinite Strike from 1 December 2018 to Demand Government Employee Status and Rs 18,000 Honorarium
The Bihar State ASHA Workers Association, ASHA Sangharsh Samiti, and Bihar State ASHA Sangh have jointly announced an indefinite strike of ASHA workers from 1 December for the following demands: government employee status; fixing Rs 18,000 honorarium and implementing this and other demands as per the written agreement according to the ASHA Honorarium Study Committee on 29 June 2015; appointment of qualified facilitators to 50% of community coordinator posts; reservation of 50% seats for Nursing Training in Nursing Colleges for qualified ASHA workers. The three ASHA associations formed the ASHA Sanyukt Sangharsh Manch to fight for a charter of 12 demands including the above demands.
The Sanyukt Sangharsh Manch held a State Level convention at the IMA Hall in Patna to make the forthcoming strike a success. At the convention, steps were announced for the success of the indefinite strike: all PHCs would be gheraoed from 1 to 8 December; all Civil Surgeons offices in Bihar would be gheraoed on 10 December; protests would be held in front of all District HQs on 11 December; and the Chief Minister would be gheraoed in Patna on 13 and 14 December.
The convention was conducted by a Presidium comprising Bihar State ASHA Workers Association President Shashi Yadav, Meera Sinha (ASHA Sangharsh Samiti), and Sunita Devi (Bihar State ASHA Sangh).
The convention was addressed by central trade union and labour leaders, including AICCTU National Secretary Ranvijay Kumar, Bihar State Health Workers Association General Secretary Vishwanath Singh, Bihar State ASHA Sangh General Secretary Kaushalendra Verma, All India Government Employees Association General Secretary Bindu Sinha, Bihar State AIDA Control Workers Association (AICCTU) General secretary Dayashankar Prasad, and Bihar State ASHA Workers Association Secretary Shavya Pandey.
The speakers forcefully condemned the Modi-Nitish governments and demanded that the ASHA workers, who have become the backbone of rural health, should be declared government employees without delay. They said that while remarkable development in the country’s health sector is due to these ASHA workers, the government is treating them as modern-day slaves. They are provided with no legal or social security, whereas both, the Modi as well as the Nitish governments make tall claims of ‘women empowerment’.
The speakers said that Modi’s pro-corporate policies are responsible for this situation. They declared that the indefinite strike from 1 December would be a decisive battle and that this time ASHA workers would not rest until their demands are fulfilled.
