Government has no animosity or obstinance towards Asha workers, what they should do is end the strike: Chief Minister

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the government has no animosity or obstinance towards the Asha workers who are protesting in front of the secretariat. The Chief Minister also clarified that the protesters should end the strike.

"The reason why the ASHA strike is not ending is the strikers themselves. Everyone wants the ASHA strike to end. However, shouldn't the strikers also have an interest in the same? Kerala is a state that provides the best honorarium to ASHAs. The strikers should think about who they should strike against. Should they strike against the state that has increased their wages or against the centre that has not increased anything," the Chief Minister said.

"There are 26,125 ASHA workers in total. 95 percent of ASHAs are not on strike. That is, the vast majority are in service in the field. Therefore, the strike does not affect the health sector in any way. Even though it is a small section, the government tried to hold discussions with them. The government held discussions with them a total of five times. The Health Minister held discussions with the strike committee three times. The Finance Minister also participated in the discussion online the third time. In addition, the NHM Director held discussions twice. The Labor Minister also held discussions with the striking ASHA workers. The government has implemented many of the demands they raised. The strike committee's stance is that they will withdraw only if they are given an honorarium of Rs 21,000. If there is a favourable situation, that demand will be considered. It was promised that a committee would be formed to study the increase in honorarium. Still, they are continuing their strike," the Chief Minister said.