Thiruvananthapuram: Health Minister Veena George will hold talks with Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) who are staging a protest in front of the Secretariat. The government took this step as the indefinite strike reached its 52nd day. According to reports, the state government has scheduled the meeting for 3:00 PM on Thursday.

S Mini, the leader of the protest committee, told Manorama News that the discussion with Veena George will focus on a hike in honorarium and retirement benefits.

“We hope this meeting does not end like the last one. Both the minister and the government are aware of our demands. We are not interested in mere announcements or assurances. We will call off the protest only after the government issues an order accepting our demands,” she added.

The protesters expressed hope regarding the meeting, as the Health Minister had met Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Tuesday.

Addressing the media in Delhi, Veena George stated that the Union Minister had asked her to inform the protesting ASHA workers that they fall under a central scheme and that the Centre is considering their demands.

She added that Nadda listened in detail to the concerns of ASHA workers and the state government’s request to increase their incentives and bring them under the ambit of labour laws.

She also stated that if the Centre increases the incentives for ASHA workers, the state will automatically hike it.

Hundreds of ASHA workers have been protesting outside the Secretariat since February 10, demanding post-retirement benefits and an increase in their honorarium from the current ₹7,000 to ₹21,000. The health workers, who played a crucial role in Kerala during the COVID-19 outbreak, alleged that around 26,000 ASHA workers in the state are awaiting payment of at least two months’ honorarium of ₹7,000 each and three months’ incentives of approximately ₹5,000 each.

ASHA workers are also demanding that the government provide a retirement benefit of ₹5 lakh and establish fixed working hours, as they are often forced to work more than 12 hours a day.