A conference was organized on 9 December by the Bihar State ASHA Workers Union (Gope group) at the Pusa PHC complex. ASHA Union Bihar State President Shashi Yadav addressed the conference. The conference called for government employee status for ASHAs and facilitators, Rs 21000 monthly wage, immediate payment of incentive arrears of Rs 1000 from 2018 to November 2020, ending rampant local level corruption-commission-discrimination in ASHA payments, changing the term monthly 'Paritoshak' (award) to 'Maandeya' (honorarium) and paying the arrears for this immediately, transparency in ASHA payments, and speedy payment of Rs 50,000 (declared by the Central government) and Rs 4 lakhs (declared by the Bihar government) to the families of ASHAs who died during the Covid period.
Shashi Yadav called for solidarity with the struggles of workers, farmers, students and youth across the country and further said that in the talks held during the ASHAs' strike it was made clear that the amount of Rs 1000 to be given to ASHAs would be an honorarium, but later the government changed the term to 'award'. ASHAs will not accept this change of word from 'honorarium' to 'award'. If the government goes back on its word, ASHAs will start an even bigger agitation.
The conference presided over by ASHA leader Usha Kumari, elected a 15-member Block Committee.
