Kozhikode: In what can be termed as a striking irony, a trade union leader issued a threat to the ASHA workers protesting in front of the Kerala Secretariat, warning that those who continue their strike without returning to work would lose their jobs. CITU state general secretary P P Prema made the controversial statement while inaugurating its counter-protest in front of the Income Tax Office here, rallying some ASHA workers.

Prema held that the Secretariat protest was not entirely unjustified, but blamed the Central Government for not recognising ASHA workers as employees under the National Health Mission (NHM). She added that the UDF government had previously disregarded ASHA workers' demands, while the former LDF government, led by V S Achuthanandan, had taken a proactive stance in their favour.

“Numerous protests have been organised by CITU raising many demands. However, they never resorted to abusive slogans against the ruling authorities. The current strike is turning into an agitation to destabilise the government. Those behind the strike are attempting to topple the government under the guise of the protest,” Prema alleged.

The CITU leader claimed that the Central Government was unwilling to provide incentives to ASHA workers, and the Kerala government had paid the incentive amount for a year. She criticised the manner in which the Secretariat protest was being conducted, but expressed readiness to join hands with the striking ASHA workers if the protest was directed against the authorities denying them benefits.

The CITU's counter-protest in Kozhikode was organised by the ASHA Workers and Facilitators Federation of India (CITU). The protest highlighted demands including the recognition of ASHA workers as permanent employees, the settlement of Central Government incentive arrears, retirement benefits, raising the retirement age to 65, ESI and PF coverage, and social security measures.