Thread by @AIIndia

1/6 The Government of India must provide assistance to the ASHA workers who are at the frontline of fighting the pandemic to keep India safe from COVID-19 instead of rushing to criminalise and lock them up under draconian laws. #ASHAWorkers

indianexpress.com/article/cities…

2/6 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers are demanding an increase in wages and PPE kits. Frustrated with the government's ignorance, they held a strike in Delhi. Now the police have filed an FIR against them for violating the 'unlockdown' guidelines. #ASHAWorkers

3/6 ASHA workers told Amnesty International India that they receive INR 3000/- as core incentive and INR 1000/- as COVID-19 incentive in Delhi. Payment of these low wages have also been delayed. #ASHAWorkers @MoHFW_INDIA @India_NHRC @CMODelhi @SatyendarJain @ndmaindia

4/6 Kavita Singh Yadav, State Coordinator, Delhi ASHA Workers Association said, “We have been demanding INR 10,000/month besides other protections since 27 March 2020. We have been ignored till now. So we decided to go on a strike following all safety protocols." #ASHAWorkers

5/6 #ASHAWorkers are community health workers who are the first point of call for any health-related demands & concerns in rural & urban India. For little pay, they carry out the enormous task of bringing the inaccessible public health system closer to the disempowered community.

6/6 Since the #COVID19India outbreak, various state governments have made positive reforms to motivate healthcare workers. But most of them either explicitly exclude ASHA workers or fall short of providing any kind of real-time protection to them. #ASHAWorkers