Mohali ASHA workers from across Punjab gathered at Gurdwara Sri Amb Sahib in Mohali on Friday and marched towards Chandigarh to press for their demands regarding Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and employment salary amongst others.
Carrying utensils and raising slogans, the workers moved towards the Chandigarh border but were stopped by police near Burail Jail Road.
Officials had placed barricades on the route to prevent the protesters from entering the UT. The ASHA workers attempted to move past the barricades, after which police used water cannons to disperse the gathering. The protest and water cannon action continued for some time as the workers remained on the spot demanding that they be allowed to proceed.
Workers from different districts of Punjab had assembled in the city to highlight their demands before the government.
The protestors said that the key demands include implementation of the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) facility and a minimum monthly salary of ₹24,000 for ASHA workers and facilitators with Class-IV status. The union has also demanded an increase and doubling of the monthly honorarium to ₹2,500 in line with the Haryana pattern along with relief fund of ₹5 lakh for workers.
Other demands included an increase in incentives and travel allowance for facilitators to ₹500 per tour with annual increments, and implementation of a pension scheme for the workers and facilitators after retirement.
