The decisions of the first Cabinet meeting of the UDF government was much-awaited, especially by the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), the Health department’s grassroots-level health volunteers, who had pinned all their hopes on the promise that Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan had given them a year ago, when he was the Leader of the Opposition.

The ASHAs had waged a 266-day day-and-night strike in front of the Secretariat, braving elements, seeking fair wages and retirement benefits. The strike by women workers had struck a chord with the civil society but after the initial attempts to placate them failed, the LDF government did not invested much in resolving their issues.

Mr. Satheesan, who had made many visits to the strike venue of ASHAs, had termed their demands fair and legitimate. He promised them that if the UDF were to come to power after the Assembly election, the issue of enhanced honorarium of ASHAs would be considered in the first Cabinet.

On Monday, Mr. Satheesan’s announcement after the first Cabinet meeting that in the first phase, ASHAs’ honorarium would be increased by ₹3,000, was greeted with much elation and pride by ASHAs. Elation, because the Chief Minister had kept his word and pride, that as a collective of women workers, their perseverance had not been in vain.

‘Treated with disdain’

“We are all very happy that Mr. Satheesan kept his word. More than anything, we felt honoured by the warmth and grace with which he greeted us when we went to meet him after his Chief Ministership was announced. We spent 266 days on the streets, but we were always treated with disdain and our struggle was dismissed as a “politicised” one. This is a victory not just for ASHAs but for all democratic workers’ movements,” M.A. Bindu, general secretary of Kerala ASHA Workers’ Welfare Association (KAHWA), told The Hindu.

She said that KAHWA’s effort was to secure a monthly honorarium of ₹21,000, which they would continue to pursue with the new government. Ms. Bindu added that she trusted the Chief Minister’s promise that KAHWA’s demand for one-time retirement benefits for ASHAs would be taken up in a month, after studying the files.

‘Stir, an inspiration’

KAHWA members said their strike and the acknowledgement of their legitimate demands by the new government would be an inspiration for all women workers’ movements and that the strike and its outcome now had instilled a sense of empowerment in them. When KAHWA launched the strike, the monthly honorarium received by ASHAs was ₹7,000. After the ASHAs called off their strike, the LDF government had raised the honorarium twice by ₹1,000 each. After the hike announced by the UDF government, ASHAs will receive a monthly honorarium of ₹12,000.