State Health and Family Welfare Minister, A. L. Hek has said that the meeting between him and members of the Meghalaya Asha Workers Union (MAWU), was “successful, meaningful and agreeable.”
“We have told them that after our discussion you should call off the indefinite strike,” Hek told reporters.
The Health and Family Welfare Minister said that at present the ASHA workers are getting only incentive from the National Health Mission (NHM). “But now the State government is going to give them incentive of Rs. 2000 every month,” Hek said.
On the delay of disbursement of the incentive to the ASHA workers, he said that from July onward the State government will have a software through a pilot project from Umling, Ri-Bhoi district salaries/ honorarium/incentives it will be directly credited to their personnel account.
The Health and Family Welfare Minister also informed that during then pandemic the NHM is giving incentive of Rs. 1000 to the ASHA workers even as he added, “over and above this the State government from now on will give another Rs. 1000 during the pandemic.”
On the pending dues like the ASHA Benefit Scheme and Meghalaya Maternity Benefit Scheme which is pending from 2011 till 2018 by July all amount will be cleared, Hek assured.
However, the MAWU wants that even the pending dues of 2019 and 2020 should also be cleared. “We told them that we will not be able to give any assurance at present but the door is not completely closed,” the Health and Family Welfare Minister said.
Hek informed that till 2018 the pending amount is Rs. 22 crores.
Meanwhile, Ka Sur U Paidbah Ka Bri U Hynniewtrep in a petition to Hek has asked the government to respond to ASHA workers demands.
Terming the ASHA Workers as the Primary Health Workers at the grassroot level and frontline workers in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, secretary of the group Egenstar Kurkalang lamented that the government could not even provide the ASHA workers with adequate self Protection materials.
“There is also a huge irregularity in the system of releasing their dues, entitlements, benefits, incentives, the monthly Honorarium of Rs 2000 as fixed by the Central Government and some of the dues of the workers are pending since 2012 to date,” he said adding that this have put the workers health and safety of their children and family at great risk and uncertainty.
Stating that their rights and justice should not be neglected, he said, “We demand the government to make necessary arrangement for Providing required materials to the ASHA for the house visit and health survey and to immediately release all the
