'We Won’t Work Like Slaves’: Kerala’s ASHA Workers Refuse to Back Down

Loan defaults, mounting debt, and eviction threats are now part of daily life for many striking ASHA workers.

ASHA workers serve as a critical link between communities and the public healthcare system, often working round the clock.

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/ Altered by Vibhushita Singh/ The Quint)

On 3 April, as the protest by ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers in front of Kerala’s state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram stretched into its 53rd day—its hunger strike marking the 15th—these resilient women stood firm, demanding fair wages and retirement benefits.

ASHA workers have been protesting since 53 days. 

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

Their voices, hoarse from weeks of chanting, carried the weight of exhaustion and hope, as they were finally invited to meet Kerala Health Minister Veena George, alongside representatives from trade unions.

At around 2:45 PM, as the protest leaders prepared to board a vehicle for the meeting, Mini S, one of the workers’ leader, spoke to The Quint with a voice trembling between hope and despair. She confided her mixed emotions, shaken by a statement made earlier that morning by Elamaram Kareem, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Central Trade Union of India.

An ASHA worker at the protest site in Thiruvananthapuram.

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

Kareem had told the media, “We won’t push for a hike in honourarium, given Kerala’s dire financial situation.” His words stung—a bitter reminder of how their pleas might once again be sidelined.

“If talks don’t turn fruitful, we will walkout, come back and stage a road block,” Mini told The Quint.

Hair Sheared, Spirits Unbroken

Minutes later, the sky above them hung heavy with clouds, mirroring the despair brewing below. For a paltry Rs 232 per day, they toil tirelessly—24 hours a day, seven days a week—to safeguard the state’s public health. They cradle pregnant women through their fears, tend to fragile newborns, care for the elderly, track communicable diseases, and uphold hygiene standards.

As the protest continued for several days, the state government eventually released the pending wages, but rather than address all concerns, it issued diktats compelling ASHA workers to return to duty.

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

Yet, their labour, so vital to Kerala’s well-being, is met with indifference; their lives reduced to a meagre wage that mocks their sacrifice.

Moments after the ASHA workers’ leaders left for the meeting, dense rain began to pour, as though the skies themselves mourned their struggle. The women who remained at the protest site stood resolute, refusing to seek shelter. Volunteers swiftly spread a blue sheet over their heads, protecting the women and the locks of hair they had cut on 31 March —the 50th day of their relentless fight.

On the 50th day of the protest, several of the ASHA workers cut their hair as a mark of protest. 

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

This act of shearing their hair, a raw and powerful gesture of defiance and anguish, was unlike anything seen in India’s history, before or after Independence. It struck a powerful chord, drawing quiet waves of empathy from those who witnessed it. Beneath the drenched sheet, these women stood unyielding, their silent courage a powerful testament to their battle for dignity in the face of relentless neglect.

This act of shearing their hair was unlike anything seen in India’s history, before or after Independence.

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

‘Nothing But a Delaying Tactic’

The meeting, which included the protesting ASHA workers, trade union representatives (who were not part of the protest), and the Health Minister, stretched on for at least three hours. Yet, it offered no hope.

The ASHA workers’ demands—a raise in their honorarium from Rs 7,000 to Rs 21,000, the abolition of new incentive guidelines introduced in March 2025, retirement benefits of Rs 5 lakh, the reversal of the retirement age set at 62, the withdrawal of legal cases against them, and an end to punitive actions targeting the protesters—remained unmet. The talks collapsed, leaving their pleas unanswered and their fight far from over.

For a paltry Rs 232 per day, ASHA workers toil tirelessly to safeguard Kerala's public health.

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

The government's sole proposal was to set up a committee to "explore" the possibility of increasing the honorarium. While trade unions, including the CITU and the Indian National Congress-led Indian National Trade Union Confederation (INTUC), accepted the proposal, the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), which has been leading the ASHA workers' protest for the past 53 days, rejected it.

Do we really need a committee to discuss an honorarium hike on the 53rd day of our protest? In the past, honourarium increases were implemented without any committee. This is nothing but a delaying tactic. So, we told the minister that we would consult the workers and respond.

MA Bindu, General Secretary of the Kerala Health ASHA Workers Association

By 6:30 PM, as Mini had predicted, ASHA workers escalated their protest and blocked the main road in Kerala’s capital.

Abandoned by Institutions, Judged by Unions

Initially, the strike was to demand long-pending wages. As the protest continued for several days, the state government eventually released the pending wages, but rather than address all concerns, it issued diktats compelling ASHA workers to return to duty. The women remained firm.

Interestingly, while SUCI led the protest, other trade unions—particularly CITU and INTUC—offered little support. Despite being linked to the state’s ruling and opposition parties respectively, both unions either ridiculed the protest or remained inactive. INTUC echoed the CPI(M)’s stance, issuing occasional press releases but never mobilising its members.

Despite unsuccessful talks with the government, ASHA workers have remained firm. 

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

Amidst the unrest, Kerala’s Health Minister made two attempts to meet Union Health Minister JP Nadda to seek an increase in ASHA workers’ incentives, succeeding once. However, this move was widely perceived as a strategic attempt to shift the financial burden onto the central government, rather than addressing the workers' demands by increasing their honorarium at the state level.

By Thursday evening, the protesters remained determined. Many are facing financial ruin. Loan defaults, mounting debt, and eviction threats are now part of daily life for many striking workers.

As we remain on strike without wages, many families are sinking into poverty. Several workers have defaulted on their loans, and now banks are sending notices to the protest site.

Shylaja K John, a volunteer at the protest.

S Padmaja, another protesting ASHA worker, said that she had received a bank notice demanding repayment of her home loan, warning her of possible eviction.“I don’t know what to do, but I won’t leave this protest site,” she said.

Padmaja’s case is not unique. Many protesters are facing similar financial distress. However, they remain resolute, stating they refuse to work like slaves for a meagre wage of Rs 232 per day.

Vital Yet Undervalued

ASHA workers were introduced in 2005 under the National Rural Health Mission (now NHM) to provide community-based healthcare, particularly for maternal and child health. These frontline health workers serve as a critical link between communities and the public healthcare system, often working round the clock.

Despite their essential role, ASHA workers receive a modest honourarium, varying by state.

Loan defaults, mounting debt, and eviction threats are now part of daily life for many striking workers.

(Photo: Rejimon Kuttappan/The Quint)

Although Kerala's Health Minister claims that most ASHA workers in the state earn between Rs 10,000 and Rs 13,500 monthly, workers argue that the state provides only a fixed honourarium of Rs 7,000, with the rest coming from task-based incentives that have multiple conditions attached.

In contrast, Sikkim offers a fixed honourarium of Rs 10,000 per month, making it one of the highest-paying states. Andhra Pradesh provides a total monthly income of Rs 10,000, along with a retirement benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh. Meanwhile, Karnataka has increased the fixed honourarium from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000, effective April 2025, in response to the workers’ demands.

(Rejimon Kuttappan in a workers’ rights researcher, forced labour investigator and author of Undocumented-Penguin 2021. This is an opinion piece. All views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)