ASHAs’ pay hike falls short of UDF’s poll promise, says Balagopal

Former Finance Minister says while the workers had demanded a raise in monthly honorarium from ₹9,000 to ₹21,000, the hike was only to the effect of ₹3,000

Hours after the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala announced a ₹3,000 increase in the honorarium of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), former Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Monday criticised the move, saying it fell short of the promises made by the Congress-led front during the Assembly election campaign.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Balagopal, a CPI(M) MLA, said the UDF had assured ASHAs that their demands would be addressed in the very first Cabinet meeting if the alliance came to power.

The workers had staged a months-long protest in front of the Secretariat during the previous LDF government, demanding that their monthly honorarium be raised to ₹21,000 and that a retirement benefit of ₹5 lakh be introduced.

“However, after assuming power, the action taken by him turned out to be a huge disappointment. Only a hike of ₹3,000 has been announced,” the Kottarakara MLA wrote, referring to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

Defending LDF

The former Minister also defended the record of the previous Left government led by Pinarayi Vijayan, saying it had increased the honorarium of ASHA workers in phases over the years.

According to him, at the time of the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, the monthly honorarium of ASHAs was ₹1,000, which was raised to ₹9,000 by the time the second LDF government under him completed its term.

Mr. Balagopal further claimed that the Left government had also increased benefits for Anganwadi workers, pre-primary staff, school cooking workers and Literacy Mission workers.