BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists), USHA (Urban Social Health Activist) and their co-workers will boycott vaccination mega drive on Saturday under which people will be motivated for inoculation.
The National Health Mission has stopped the incentive to ASHA and USHA workers from September. The health workers were given incentives for corona awareness programmes and motivation for vaccination drive.
ASHA workers were given Rs 1,000 per month while ASHA co-workers were given Rs 500 per month as incentive for corona awareness programmes besides the honorarium of Rs 2,000 per month they get from the health department.
'Many ASHA, USHA workers and co-workers have lost lives during the corona pandemic. Despite that, we continued to work selflessly. Now without any formal orders, the CMHOs have issued instructions on WhatsApp groups not to pay incentives,' said Laxmi Kaurav, state president of ASHA USHA Sahyogini Shramik Sangh.
Another ASHA worker said that their duty starts at 6 am and they return home late. 'We are paid Rs 2,000 but are asked to work more than a regular employee of a health department,' said Roopmala, who has been working as ASHA worker for past four years.
'Government prescribed wages for skilled labourers at Rs 424 per day that comes to around Rs 11035 per month. On the contrary, we are paid Rs 2,000 per month only. We have been demanding raise in honorarium for quite long,' Roopmala added.
