Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 27 (PTI) A Youth Congress march to the state secretariat here, expressing solidarity with the ASHA workers who have been protesting to demand an increase in their honorarium and the provision of retirement benefits turned violent on Thursday as police used water cannons and applied mild force to disperse the protesters.
The Youth Congress activists threw sticks, stones, and chairs that the Accredited Social Health Activist workers had kept at the protest venue at the police, causing minor injuries to several policemen.
The protesters attempted to enter the secretariat compound through various points, but the police effectively blocked them.
The activists then pulled at the iron barricades placed at the south gate of the secretariat in an attempt to block the arterial MG Road.
The police showed great composure and did not resort to a lathi charge, despite the protesters continuously trying to provoke them.
Earlier, the Congress party had announced that it would lead the protest by ASHA workers, as the government continued to dismiss their just demands.
On Thursday, the government credited all pending payments to ASHA workers, while the central government's share of the honorarium remains unpaid.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George on Thursday stated that it is upto the Union Government to take a decision on the pay revision of ASHA workers.
Addressing media persons here, she said the central government has not considered them as workers.
Clarifying the issue of pending payments, the minister said that the Centre is yet to disburse Rs 100 crore in arrears of the incentives to ASHA workers adding that she will be with them to stage protests in New Delhi for granting this amount.
She dismissed claims that the Kerala government has failed to pay incentive arrears as false propaganda.
According to her, ASHA workers in Kerala receive a monthly salary between Rs 10,000 and Rs 13,500, a significant increase from the Rs 1,000 they initially received, with the Pinarayi government raising it to Rs 7,000.
She further stated that when an ASHA worker earns Rs 13,500, the state government alone contributes Rs 9,600.
Discussions are currently underway with the finance department to explore the possibility of increasing the honorarium.
"The state government has always had a sympathetic approach towards ASHA workers," George said.
Of the 26,125 ASH workers, only a small number of workers are participating in the strike.
Initially, seven per cent of ASHA workers were on strike, but this has now reduced to six per cent, she added.
Meanwhile, former union minister and BJP leaders V Muraleedharan and Shobha Surendran visited the protest venue in support of the strike.
Muraleedharan said the state government was trying to portray this as a protest against the Centre, claiming that the union government had not paid its dues.
He stated that this was merely a diversion tactic by the government, which continued to insult the striking workers.