ASHA workers demonstrated outside the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on Thursday, demanding payment of pending salaries, bonuses, incentives and mobile bills, while officials reportedly assured them that two months of dues and one month of arrears would be paid.
The protest was organised by the Paschim Banga Paur Swasthya Karmi Contractual Union ahead of Durga Puja. The workers said that while most employees had received their salaries before the festival, ASHA workers were still waiting for several payments.
According to the protesting workers, salaries and other dues have remained unpaid for several months. They also said that reimbursement of their mobile bills had been pending for the past eight months. The workers alleged that they continued to be assigned duties despite the delayed payments and that their workload had increased.
The dispute highlights the administrative dependence of urban public-health services on contractual and frontline workers whose duties connect municipal systems with communities. The protesting ASHA workers said they had previously approached the relevant officials about the pending payments. They were allegedly assured that their dues would be cleared within a week, but that period passed without the promised payment, prompting the demonstration outside the civic headquarters.
A delegation of the workers met officials again on Thursday. The officials reportedly said that payment would be made for two months of outstanding dues and one month of arrears on Thursday evening. The workers, however, expressed doubt over whether the stated amount would actually be transferred.
The workers are seeking clearance of all pending salary payments, bonuses, incentives and mobile-bill reimbursements. They said the protest would continue until the complete outstanding amount is paid.
The report does not specify the total number of workers involved, the total value of the dues, or the civic department responsible for processing each payment. It also does not state whether the promised payments were released by Thursday evening. The next step reported by the workers is continued protest action until all pending payments are cleared.
