After 39 days of relentless protests outside the Kerala Secretariat, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers escalated their agitation on Thursday, with three members beginning an indefinite hunger strike. The workers, under the banner of the Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association (KAHWA), are demanding increased honorariums and post-retirement benefits, accusing the ruling Left government of neglect and insensitivity.
The hunger strike commenced at 11 a.m. amid chants and slogans branding the government as "corrupt" and "cruel." The protesters, numbering over 26,000 across Kerala, have been vocal about their current honorarium of Rs 7,000 per month—among the highest state-paid amounts in India—being inadequate given their workload and lack of retirement security. They seek a raise to Rs 21,000 monthly and a Rs 5 lakh retirement benefit.
Congress leader and former Health Minister V M Sudheeran visited the protest site before the strike began, pledging solidarity. Addressing reporters, he criticized the CPI(M)-led government’s stance as "neo-fascist," questioning its delayed response. His remarks came as Health Minister Veena George departed for Delhi to discuss ASHA workers’ issues with the central government, a move Sudheeran called "delayed wisdom."
George, speaking at the airport, shifted responsibility to the Centre, noting that ASHA incentives, unchanged for 20 years, fall under the National Health Mission (NHM), a centrally sponsored scheme. "We’ll press the Centre to hike their honorarium," she said. Her trip followed failed negotiations on Wednesday with state health officials and the minister herself, where KAHWA leaders rejected the government’s assurances as insufficient.
The protest intensified earlier this week when hundreds of ASHA workers blockaded the Secretariat on Monday, disrupting traffic on MG Road. The state claims it awaits Rs 100 crore in NHM funds for 2023-24, a contention the Centre disputes, asserting it released Rs 815 crore of the allocated Rs 913 crore, pending Kerala’s utilisation certificate. Union Health Minister J P Nadda recently announced an impending incentive hike approved by the NHM’s Mission Steering Group, though details remain unclear.
KAHWA leaders remain resolute. "We won’t relent until our basic demands are met," one said, dismissing the government’s waiver of honorarium criteria as a partial victory. With three women now fasting indefinitely, and more prepared to join, the standoff signals a deepening crisis. As Kerala’s health sector backbone, ASHA workers’ struggle highlights broader tensions between state and central responsibilities, leaving their fate hanging in the balance.