CEO reprimands health officers for stopping Ashas’ honorarium

Aurangabad

Zilla Parishad (ZP) chief executive officer (CEO) Vikas Meena on Monday reprimanded health officers for stopping and delaying the honorarium of the Asha workers. Meena told them that will it be fine if their salaries are also stopped.

Asha workers and health employees union affiliated with CITU staged demonstrations on Monday over stopping and delaying their honorarium. Around 500 agitators had gathered at ZP headquarters and shouted slogans. union district president Damodar Mankape, general secretary Mangal Thombare, Ajay Bhavalkar, Pushpa Paithane, Jyoti Bhosale, Janabai Netke, Samina Shaikh, and others were present.

A delegation of the agitators met CEO Meena and presented a memorandum of several demands. He assured the delegation that the issues which are likely to be solved at the local level will be solved immediately and the issues related to the state and union government will be forwarded.

He directed district health officer Dr Sudhakar Shelke and other fellow health officers that the Asha workers should get the honorarium on a fixed date every month.

Union leaders Mankape and Thombare brought to the notice of the CEO that the Asha workers and other contractual workers are not considered to be employees, hence they should be enrolled as employees. The Ashas in our state get an honorarium of Rs 4,000 and in other states, it is around Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000. They should get the facilities of uniform, ESIC, and provident fund.