Kerala Asha workers cut hair as pay hike protest enters 50th day

Thiruvananthapuram: Dozens of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) intensified their protest outside the Secretariat on Monday, cutting their hair and some shaving their heads in an emotional gesture of defiance against the government's alleged indifference to their demands. The protest escalated into its 50th day on Monday, with demonstrators intensifying their agitation outside the administrative hub, marking a new phase in their prolonged campaign. Emotional scenes unfolded when several ASHA workers from across the districts converged at the protest venue in the morning and cut their hair en masse, raising slogans against the government. In a display of desperation, one protester was overcome with emotion, breaking down in tears before taking the extreme step of shaving her head completely. "It's our lives that are being cut. This is our protest against the ministers who turn a blind eye to our pain and problems. How are we supposed to survive on a meagre 232 rupees/a day?" the woman said, weeping and clutching the severed hair strands in her hand.

If the government refused to meet their demands, all the protesters would die here itself, she further said. "We have been staging our protest, battling scorching heat and rain, for the last 50 days. The government has not bothered to care for us," she alleged. Mini S, one of the leaders who led the stir, said they were forced to cut the hair to express their strong protest against the government. "None of our demands has been considered empathetically by the government. We are not protesting emotionally... it's our strong protest. Our protest will be spread across the state," she told the media. The protesters later held the cut hair strands in their hands and took out a protest march through the busy MG Road. Similar hair-cutting demonstrations were held in Alappuzha and Angamaly also. Some men also shaved their heads, expressing solidarity with the protesting ASHA workers. An indefinite hunger strike of the agitators was also progressing at the protest venue for the last week. A section of ASHA workers has been protesting outside the Secretariat here for the last several weeks raising various demands including post-retirement benefits and an increase in honorarium.

The Left government in the state made it clear that such a steep hike in honorarium is not practically possible and said it was the responsibility of the Centre to address the demands of the ASHA workers. According to the government, it has not received any cash grant from the central government under the National Health Mission (NHM) for 2023-24 for payment towards various Centrally sponsored schemes, including ASHA. The central government has, however, rejected the state's claims and contended that it has given what was due, but the utilisation certificate did not come from Kerala. It said that once the certificate comes, the requisite amount would be given to the ASHA workers and the state. Union Health Minister J P Nadda had also announced in the Parliament that the Mission Steering Group of the NHM has decided to raise the incentives for ASHA workers.