Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 3 (PTI) Kerala Health Minister Veena George on Monday stated that the state provides the highest honorarium to ASHA workers in the country.

In addition to their honorarium, they also receive a fixed incentive of Rs 3,000 monthly and incentives for various activities, she added.

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Responding to a calling attention motion moved by CPI(M) MLA K Shanthakumari in the Assembly, George said that 90 per cent of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) workers in Kerala earn between Rs 10,000 and Rs 13,500 per month.

"There are 26,225 ASHA workers and their activities are being carried out in a structured manner. Their maternity leave is ensured, and efforts are made to prevent excessive workload," the minister said.

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She added that as per the existing arrangement, 60 per cent of the honorarium should be paid by the Centre and 40 per cent by the state. However, Kerala is currently paying Rs 7,000 per worker entirely on its own, as the Centre has yet to release Rs 100 crore in pending payments despite repeated requests.

Citing the financial situation in the Assembly, the minister stated that Kerala has not yet received its due share under the National Health Mission (NHM).

She urged the MPs from the state to push for the pending ASHA worker payments in Parliament.

George also stated that the Kerala government will request the Centre to bring ASHA workers under the ambit of the Labour Acts to ensure better working conditions and rights.

"ASHA is a project of the Centre and ASHA workers are considered only as activists, hence they should be brought under the Labour laws," she said.

The minister stated in the Assembly that while Kerala provides the highest honorarium to ASHA workers, certain media outlets are spreading misleading information.

Meanwhile, the ASHA workers who have been on strike for the past 22 days took out a massive protest march to the Assembly on Monday.

ASHA workers have been protesting in front of the Secretariat, demanding a hike in honorarium and retirement benefits along with other demands.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)