ASHA workers seek ₹5,000 honorarium for SIR duty, warn of impact on health services

The Karnataka State Joint ASHA Workers’ Association, affiliated to the All India United Trade Union Centre (AIUTUC), has urged the Election Commission to provide an honorarium of ₹5,000 to ASHA workers deployed to assist Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a memorandum submitted to Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar on Monday, the association said ASHA workers in several districts and taluks had been assigned as additional staff to assist the BLOs in the SIR exercise, even though they were not designated as the BLOs themselves.

The association said district administrations, tahsildars and health authorities had issued orders deploying ASHA workers for the election-related exercise. However, it alleged that there was no provision in the official orders specifying payment of an honorarium for the additional work.

Pointing out that ASHA workers are engaged under an incentive-based system and already receive modest remuneration, the association demanded a fixed honorarium of ₹5,000 for those assigned election duties.

Will hit public health services

The association also expressed concern that the month-long SIR exercise, being conducted from June 30 to July 29, would affect the delivery of essential public health services.

ASHA workers are responsible for field-level services, including care of pregnant women, postnatal mothers and newborns, immunisation, and implementation of various government health programmes in rural and urban areas, it said.

Requiring them to undertake daily house-to-house visits for the electoral roll revision over the same period could adversely affect these public health services unless adequate time and arrangements were made for them to perform both responsibilities, the association said.

According to the association, the Chief Electoral Officer assured the delegation that the representation would be examined.