ASHA workers in Kailashahar have alleged that they have not received their salaries for the past two months, despite repeatedly informing officials at various levels of the Health Department, both in writing and verbally.
Angry over the delay, a group of ASHA workers went to the chamber of the Sub-Divisional Medical Officer (SDMO) at Rajiv Gandhi Sub-Divisional Hospital in Kailashahar on Monday afternoon to protest. However, they found the SDMO absent and subsequently staged a protest before the hospital accountant.
The accountant reportedly assured the workers that the salaries would be credited to their bank accounts by Wednesday.
Expressing their frustration, the ASHA workers said they were among the lowest-paid frontline workers in the Health Department and were required to work throughout the year without receiving their salaries on time at the end of each month.
They said that ahead of the Durga Puja festivities, people from different sections of society were purchasing clothes for themselves and their children, but the ASHA workers were unable to do so because of the non-payment of their salaries.
The workers further alleged that despite repeatedly approaching departmental officials, their grievances had been ignored. Instead, they claimed, they had been given repeated assurances that the payments would be made “today or tomorrow”, without any actual disbursement.
According to the workers, 38 ASHA workers under Rajiv Gandhi Sub-Divisional Hospital and another 35 under Irani Primary Health Centre—73 workers in total—have been deprived of their salaries for the past two months. Despite the delay, they said, they have continued to perform their duties every day.
The distressed workers warned that if their salaries were not credited by Wednesday as assured, they would launch a larger agitation to press for the release of their pending payments.