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Accredited Health Social Activists (ASHA) called off their nine-day strike on Wednesday after the state government agreed to increase their monthly fees by Rs 1,500, and for bloc facilitators by Rs 1,700.
Each ASHA worker will also receive a smartphone.
Health Minister Rajesh Tope held a meeting with senior health officials and ASHA officials on Wednesday, following which the strike was called.
Tope announced that ASHAs will receive a raise of Rs 1,000 in fixed monthly salary and Rs 500 in Covid-19 allowance. Block facilitators will get a raise of Rs 1,200 per month and Rs 500 as Covid-19 allowance.
ASHAs’ fixed monthly income during the pandemic is expected to reach Rs 6,500, outside of financial incentives based on the programs they receive.
The fixed monthly income for block facilitators is expected to exceed 12,200 rupees. Maharashtra has 68,297 ASHAs and 3,570 block facilitators.
In addition, the government agreed to pay Rs 200 per day for the ASHA vaccination work. Pending pay will be paid to them for mobilizing villagers to get vaccinated, said Shubha Shamim, state secretary of the Indian Trade Union Center.
The state had set a monthly salary of 2,000 rupees, in addition to the 2,000 rupee salary of the Union government for ASHAs last year.
This year, ASHAs have put together a list of demands ranging from greater protection against Covid-19 infection to reserving beds in hospitals and better pay.
They alleged that they worked eight hours a day and that the Covid-19 work had added to their burden. On June 15, they began an indefinite statewide strike.
Raju Desle, who attended the meeting on Wednesday on behalf of ASHA, said that in addition to an immediate salary increase, the Minister of Health also assured that the fixed monthly salary would be increased by an additional Rs 500 per month from July 1, 2022.
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