{"id":5183,"date":"2025-08-12T19:57:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T14:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=5183"},"modified":"2025-08-14T21:04:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T15:34:15","slug":"asha-workers-stage-72-hour-statewide-protest-in-karnataka-over-unmet-pay-hike-promise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/?p=5183","title":{"rendered":"ASHA Workers Stage 72-Hour Statewide Protest in Karnataka Over Unmet Pay Hike Promise"},"content":{"rendered":"

ASHA Workers Launch Statewide 72-Hour Protest in Karnataka Over Honorarium Hike Demand<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Bengaluru, August 12, 2025<\/strong> \u2014 Thousands of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) across Karnataka began a 72-hour round-the-clock protest on Tuesday, demanding the fulfilment of long-pending assurances, including a minimum monthly honorarium of \u20b910,000.<\/p>\n

The protest, spearheaded by the Karnataka Rajya Samyukta ASHA Workers\u2019 Union, will continue until August 14 at district-level locations across the state. The main rally in Bengaluru is being held at Freedom Park.<\/p>\n

\n

Workers Cite Broken Promise by State Government<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Union State Secretary D. Nagalakshmi<\/strong> said the protest was triggered by the state government\u2019s failure to act on a promise made earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn January, we protested demanding an increase in the monthly honorarium. During a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, the government assured us that from April onwards, each ASHA worker would receive at least \u20b910,000, combining the state honorarium and the central government\u2019s partial incentive. But even after four months, no official order has been issued,\u201d Nagalakshmi told reporters.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Karnataka\u2019s ASHA Workforce Rises in Protest Against Government Delays<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Key Demands of the Protesters<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The ASHA workers\u2019 charter of demands includes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    Immediate implementation<\/strong> of the promised \u20b910,000 monthly honorarium, with effect from April 2025, inclusive of state and central incentives.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Parity with other schemes<\/strong>: Just as Anganwadi and mid-day meal workers received a hike to \u20b910,000 in the March 2025 state budget, ASHA workers want the same benefit.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Reversal of workload changes<\/strong>: Withdrawal of the decision to increase the population coverage limit per worker under the guise of \u201crationalisation,\u201d and assurance that no ASHA worker will lose her job.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Fair performance assessment<\/strong>: Elimination of what they call \u201cunscientific\u201d performance evaluation methods.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Job security for facilitators<\/strong>: Continuation of ASHA facilitators\u2019 roles with appropriate salaries.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Retirement benefits<\/strong>: Introduction of a lump-sum retirement grant on the model of West Bengal.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Urban allowance<\/strong>: Increase in honorarium by \u20b92,000 for ASHA workers in urban areas.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Central incentive implementation<\/strong>: Enforcement of the increased central government incentive announced in June\u2013July this year.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Broken Promises Spark ASHA Workers\u2019 3-Day Protest Across Karnataka<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \n

    Statewide Mobilisation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Protest sites have been set up in all districts, with workers staging sit-ins day and night. Many have travelled long distances to participate. In Bengaluru, hundreds gathered with placards and slogans demanding \u201cjustice for frontline workers.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe have been the backbone of rural and urban health outreach for years, but our work is undervalued. If our demands are not met, we will intensify the agitation,\u201d warned Nagalakshmi.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Background: ASHA Workers\u2019 Role<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    ASHA workers form a critical link between communities and public healthcare systems, engaging in maternal and child health services, immunisation drives, and disease prevention campaigns. Despite their crucial role, they are classified as \u201cvolunteers,\u201d receiving only honorariums and incentives instead of fixed salaries.<\/p>\n

    For years, unions have argued that this classification leads to poor job security, low pay, and lack of benefits, even though the work often demands full-time commitment.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Government Response Awaited<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    As of Tuesday evening, the state government had not issued an official statement regarding the fresh protests. In the past, officials have cited budgetary constraints and ongoing negotiations with the Centre as reasons for delays in implementing wage hikes.<\/p>\n

    However, union leaders insist the government must honour its own assurances before workers lose faith entirely.<\/p>\n

    Key Quotes\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
      \n
    • \n

      \u201cIn January, the Chief Minister assured us \u20b910,000 per month from April. It\u2019s August, and there\u2019s still no order. We cannot survive on empty promises.\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 D. Nagalakshmi, State Secretary, Karnataka Rajya Samyukta ASHA Workers\u2019 Union<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      \u201cWe are not asking for charity; we are demanding fair pay for essential health work that keeps communities safe.\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 An ASHA worker at Freedom Park protest site<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      \u201cOur demands are clear \u2014 implement the \u20b910,000 honorarium, stop increasing our workload unfairly, and ensure no ASHA loses her job.\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 Protest leader in Bengaluru<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      \u201cIf Anganwadi and mid-day meal workers got the hike, why are ASHA workers left out? We are frontline workers too.\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 Union member from Mysuru district<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      \u201cWe will continue our agitation day and night until the government issues the order it promised.\u201d<\/strong> \u2014 ASHA worker addressing the crowd<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      <\/div>\n

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      <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      ASHA Workers Launch Statewide 72-Hour Protest in Karnataka Over Honorarium Hike Demand Bengaluru, August 12, 2025 \u2014 Thousands of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) across Karnataka began a 72-hour round-the-clock protest on Tuesday, demanding the fulfilment of long-pending assurances, including a minimum monthly honorarium of \u20b910,000. The protest, spearheaded by the Karnataka Rajya Samyukta ASHA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[115,81,740,74,82],"class_list":["post-5183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-karnataka","tag-asha-workers","tag-chief-minister","tag-freedom-park","tag-karnataka","tag-siddaramaiah"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5183"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5192,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5183\/revisions\/5192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belgaumnow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}