Chennithala, Satheesan demands cm to intervene

Thiruvananthapuram: The leaders of the Congress VD Satheesan and Ramesh Chennithala demanded on Monday that Prime Minister Pinarayi Vijayan intervened in the protests of the workers of ASHA, who have been ongoing in progress in front of the secretariat during the last 36 days.

The Kerala Asha (Kahwa) workers association launched a protest sitting outside the State Secretariat on February 10, demanding the release of pending payments, an increase in the monthly honorary of RS 7,000 to RS 21,000, and retirement benefits of RS 5 Lakh. The protesters also renewed their long demand to recognize ASHA workers as regular government employees.

The opposition leader Satheesan urged the CM to find a solution to the problem and finish their protests immediately. “They are the first -line warriors in our health sector. They cannot be defeated ignoring, insulting and threatening. The prime minister should urgently intervene to solve the problem,” he said in a position in X.

The senior leader and Harippad MLA Chennithala also echoed his position and criticized the CM for ignoring the worker’s demands. “These are workers, main minister. Why not, not proud as the leader of a working class party, lifts a finger? Why do these poor women have no value in their eyes,” he asked in an X publication.

He also said that Asha’s workers are receiving a little salary from RS 232, which is not enough to support a family in Kerala. “Please, let your pride and evil arrogance call these poor women, understand the problems, discuss them, accept your demands and end this strike,” he said.

The Government issued an order on Monday that withdraw the 10 previously required guidelines to receive honorary payments. Asha’s workers had complained that complex guidelines resulted in only a little honorary. The workers said the government’s decision marks a victory for their strike.

Meanwhile, Asha workers have decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike as of Thursday, marking the third phase of their agitation. Although the government relieved the conditions associated with its honorary, many of its demands have not yet been addressed.