ASHA workers protest seeking honorarium hike and halt to retrenchment

Ahead of the State Budget, ASHA workers staged a protest at Freedom Park on Friday demanding an increase in honorarium and withdrawal of the proposed removal of nearly 7,000 workers under “rationalisation”.

Leaders of the Karnataka Rajya ASHA Karyakarteyara Sangha said the Chief Minister had, during a protest in January 2025, assured them of a minimum monthly guarantee of ₹10,000 and a ₹1,000 hike. However, these measures for ASHA workers were not mentioned in the March 2025 Budget, and a manifesto promise to raise the honorarium from ₹5,000 to ₹8,000 remains unfulfilled, they said.

K. Somashekar, State president of the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC) to which the Sangha is affiliated, alleged that incentives had not been revised for years and criticised delays linked to payments through the RCH portal. The union leaders opposed the “rationalisation” exercise, calling it arbitrary and against Central guidelines.

The workers demanded a fixed monthly honorarium of ₹15,000 by combining State and Central shares, implementation of the promised ₹8,000 honorarium, retirement benefits, a medical corpus fund, and clearance of pending dues.

Vasanthkumar, Director of Health and Family Welfare, told the protesters that proposals for a ₹1,000 hike, a medical corpus fund and recovery support had been submitted to the government.

The association warned of intensified agitation if the Budget failed to address their demands.