Protests erupt outside Bengal’s health department as ASHA workers demand pay hike, benefits

Hundreds of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) laid siege to the West Bengal Health Department headquarters at Swasthya Bhavan in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, demanding better wages and insurance benefits after the welfare protest for the last 15 days.

A pink and purple wave of protesting uniformed ASHA workers took over Salt Lake Sector V on Wednesday morning, January 7, and gathered outside Swasthya Bhavan as the day progressed. They continued their agitation on eight major demands, including increase in monthly pay from ₹ 5,250 to ₹ 15,000 and compensation of ₹ 5 lakh in case of death on duty.

Protesters chanted slogans, blocked roads and traffic and breached barricades as they tried to enter Swasthya Bhavan, but were unsuccessful after police locked the main gate to prevent their entry. They continued their protest in the form of a sit-in outside Swasthya Bhavan and demanded that a team of representatives be allowed to meet Health department officials to discuss their demands.

“We want our monthly wage to be increased to 15,000 rupees, we want maternity leave, compensation in case of death on duty, we want to be recognized as permanent government employees and not volunteers. We also want mobile phone expenses to be covered for digital data entry work and payment of pending allowances promised earlier,” said an ASHA worker among the protesters.

Their job, he added, is to provide a wide range of services for maternity and child care, including rushing to people’s homes at very late hours in case of any medical emergency. “Even though we help so many pregnant women and new mothers, we cannot benefit from maternity leave,” she said.

ASHA workers boycotted work for over two weeks as part of their ongoing agitation and claimed that they had forwarded their demands to the Ministry of Health to multiple delegations.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, there are approximately 70,468 ASHA workers in West Bengal as of September 2024.

Their duties include informing communities about nutrition, basic sanitation and hygiene practices, and advising women on childbirth preparation, safe childbirth, breastfeeding, immunization, birth control and prevention of common infections, including sexually transmitted infections, and care of young children.