The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has threatened to launch its own agitation if the State government terminates the service of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) who are currently on strike.
In a statement issued here today, newly elected HYC president Roy Kupar Synrem said that the demands by the ASHAs were justified.
He also said that ASHA workers have rendered selfless service as frontline healthcare workers during the Covid pandemic and also have served the people diligently in promoting healthcare.
“The government should resolve this issue immediately because if the agitation by the ASHAs continues, the ripple effect will be on the people of the State. We request the government not to intimidate these health workers with threats of termination from service. If any of the ASHAs are terminated, we will also launch our own agitation against the government,” Synrem said.
The Meghalaya Accredited Social Health Activist Workers’ Union (MASHAWU) on November 8 began its agitation by resorting to an indefinite strike as a mark of protest against the State government’s refusal to enhance their honorarium.
MASHAWU is demanding an increase of the honorarium for ASHAs to Rs 5,000 from the existing Rs 2,000.
According to the association, the ASHAs are not getting any fixed honorarium from the National Health Mission (NHM), as they are only incentives.
However, the State government said it has released Rs 34.50 crore in the last 18 months for the social health activists through the ‘ASHA First’ application for seamless payment.
Joint Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, T G Momin, recently said that since the launch of the ‘ASHA First’ application in October 2022, the Health Department has been consistent in disbursing payments to the ASHAs.
“Today, many ASHAs receive their payments, even on a weekly basis, upon raising claims through the app,” he had said.
Stating that over the past few years, the department has taken up the concerns and issues raised by ASHAs, Momin also said that on average, well-performing ASHAs can even receive incentives ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 per month.
He also said that pending payments for the Meghalaya Maternity Benefit Scheme (MMBS) and Meghalaya ASHA Benefit Scheme (MABS), amounting to Rs 53 crore, which were pending since 2013, have been released across the State during the 2021–2022 fiscal.
Momin also said that the State government is providing a fixed incentive of Rs 2,000 per month to all ASHAs under the State Scheme, recognising the diverse challenges faced by them.
