After a gap of more than a month after declaring it, the Kerala government finally appointed a high-level committee to study the issues faced by Asha workers in the state.
The five-member committee is chaired by Haritha V. Kumar, Director of Women and Child Development. The committee will study matters related to Asha workers’ honorarium and their retirement benefits and submit a report.
The committee will hold discussions with various trade union leaders, study the concerns, and submit its report within three months. Based on the report, the government will make decisions regarding issues such as increasing the honorarium.
Although the government had assured during talks with Asha worker unions—amid the intensifying protest—that a committee would be formed, no follow-up action had been taken until now. The government had also informed the High Court about its plan to constitute a committee.
A section of ASHA workers in the state started the protests in the state around 100 days back. Currently, these Asha workers are conducting a march across the state as part of their ongoing protest.
In the talks held on April 3, the government urged the workers to withdraw from the strike, citing that a committee would be formed to study the issues. However, during the discussion, the protesting Asha workers demanded an increase in the current honorarium from ₹7,000 to ₹10,000, which the government was not willing to accept. The strike committee had stated that they would consider appointing a committee after the honorarium increase.
The protesting ASHA workers allege that the government formed the committee merely as a tactic to diffuse the protest. Their argument is that there is no need for a committee to increase the honorarium or announce retirement benefits, and they claim the move is part of a broader strategy to dilute the strike that has put the left government on the back foot.
