Asha workers across Karnataka have decided to boycott work from July 10 as the state government has failed to meet their demands.

On June 30, Asha workers (Accredited Social Health Activists), who are on the frontline amid the pandemic, had called for a statewide protest if the government failed to address their concerns. Their major concerns are inadequate wages, technical issues that delay their remuneration, and the lack of protective equipment. The workers’ demand that the State government should provide them a monthly wage of Rs 12,000, which would include incentives and the honorarium they currently receive.

‘The present situation… It is as if the government has sent them into a battlefield without arms or ammunition. We, therefore, urge the government to provide adequate PPE suits to protect the health of Asha workers for their invaluable service in stalling the Covid-19 infection,’ The New Indian Express quoted D Nagalakshmi, state secretary of the Karnataka Rajya Samyuktha Asha Karyakarteyara Sangha, as saying.

The Union Health Ministry recently lauded the 42,000 Asha workers in Karnataka for surveying almost 1.29 crore households, daily collecting data from containment zones, gathering information from families having COVID-19 and influenza symptoms and breathing difficulties.

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