Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) staged a demonstration outside Prakasam Bhavan on Tuesday demanding healthy, safe and decent working conditions for all health workers.
Leading the protest, Prakasam District ASHA Association president I. Raghavamma said that though they played a pivotal role in taking forward the National Rural Health Mission to people at the grassroots, they themselves lived in pathetic conditions.
“We have been at the forefront during the fight against COVID-19 and were exposed to health risks. Many of us succumbed to the pandemic. We work for long hours, and are subjected to psychological distress and also face social stigma,” she said.
They raised slogans pressing for a minimum monthly wage of ₹15,000, ex gratia of ₹10 lakh each to the families of health workers who had succumbed to COVID-19, a minimum retirement benefit of ₹5 lakh each, extension of retirement age to 62 years and a job to a family member of a retiring health worker.
