Asha workers to launch statewide nightlong protest from Aug 12

Bengaluru: Just days before state transport employees gear up for an indefinite strike, another significant labor agitation is brewing in the state. Thousands of Asha workers, the backbone of community health services, are preparing for a three-day statewide overnight protest starting August 12, demanding that the state government address long-pending grievances on wages, workload, and job regularisation.

The protest, organized by the Karnataka Rajya Sanyukta Asha Karyakarteyara Sangha, will be held in all districts, including nightlong sit-ins near Deputy Commissioners’ offices. In a press statement, the union’s state secretary Prathika said that the workers are “left with no option but to agitate,” after several failed representations and unmet assurances from the government. “We have waited patiently for months, but our voices are being ignored. We are going ahead with our dharna on August 12, 13, and 14 across Karnataka,” she said.

Asha workers have accused the government of betraying the promise made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who had earlier declared that ₹10,000 per month honorarium—including the central incentive—would be guaranteed from April 2024. However, no official notification has been issued so far. They are now demanding that the government issue an order without further delay.

Among their other key demands is parity in incentives. The 2025 state budget promised an additional ₹1,000 incentive for Anganwadi and mid-day meal workers, but the government has excluded Asha workers from this benefit. The union has demanded that similar financial support be extended to them, citing long-standing service under difficult and low-paid conditions.

Another contentious issue is the rationalization of workload, where the Health Department has proposed to increase the population size each Asha worker covers. The union has vehemently opposed this, calling it “inhuman and unscientific,” and warned that it will only overburden already stretched workers. “Using rationalization as an excuse to remove workers is unacceptable. We won’t let a single Asha worker lose her job,” said the union.

The protestors are also demanding that the performance evaluation system currently used to assess Asha workers be scrapped. “It is arbitrary, vague, and unfair,” said Prathika.

The union also wants all Asha SUGAM facilitators—field-level assistants—to be retained with fair wages, and has called for monthly pensions for retired workers following the West Bengal model.

Urban Asha workers, who face higher living costs, have demanded an additional ₹2,000 hike in honorarium, and want the state to implement the enhanced central incentive announced for June-July 2025 without delay.

This fresh round of protests comes amid growing unrest among public service workers in Karnataka.

The planned transport workers’ strike beginning August 5 has already put the government in a tight spot. Now, the Asha workers’ coordinated three-day action could amplify pressure on the Siddaramaiah-led administration, which is already being criticized for slow implementation of labor reforms and bureaucratic negligence.

The union has also dismissed any claims of political motivation, asserting that this is a non-partisan struggle for justice and recognition. “We are not aligned with any party. We are demanding dignity, respect, and what has already been promised,” said Prathika.