Bengaluru: Karnataka’s ASHA workers have begun a three-day, day-and-night, district-level protest from August 12 to 14, demanding implementation of the Chief Minister’s January promise of a minimum monthly honorarium of ₹10,000, inclusive of the Centre’s incentive, and a ₹1,000 salary hike in line with Anganwadi and hot meal workers.

ASHA workers, often the first point of contact for rural and slum healthcare, say they have been left disappointed despite assurances. The Karnataka State United ASHA Workers’ Association recalled that 40,000 members protested in Bengaluru in January, after which CM Siddaramaiah had assured the revised honorarium from April 2025, additional incentives for extra work, and payment of shortfalls.

However, workers allege that seven months later, no formal order has been issued. They have also opposed recent department orders—removal of facilitators, forced retirement of a 60-year-old worker without compensation, and performance evaluations based on flawed ASHA Soft data.

Key demands include:

  • ₹10,000 monthly honorarium from April 2025

  • ₹1,000 pay hike for all ASHAs, not just a few

  • Stopping rationalisation that increases population limits per worker

  • Withdrawal of “unscientific” performance appraisals

  • Continuation of facilitators with proper pay

  • Retirement benefits on the West Bengal model

  • ₹2,000 honorarium hike for urban ASHAs

  • Implementation of Centre’s June-July 2025 incentive hike in Karnataka

The protest will continue till August 14 unless demands are met.