The Punjab government has announced an increment for the 22,000 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers as well as over 42,000 mid-day meal workers in the State. That is not all. The ASHA workers will also enjoy cashless health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi announced that the fixed monthly allowance for ASHA workers will be Rs 2,500, henceforth, while mid-day meal workers will earn Rs 800 more than they used to. This will mean a burden of Rs 124.25 crore.
The insurance cover for ASHA workers will be provided free of cost and will protect them amidst the pandemic, as their work involves close interaction with people.
Both ASHA and mid-day meal workers will now be able to avail full maternity leave, just like other government employees.
Elsewhere in Punjab, government school teachers in Ludhiana who failed to upload their vaccination certificates on the Punjab integrated human resource management system, had to go without their salaries for the month of December.
As per an order issued in December, the finance department had informed the government employees that they would not be able to withdraw their salaries if their vaccination certification number – for single or double vaccinations – was not registered. Hey had been told that their salaries would be released only if the upload their certification number.
Till December 29, over 10 lakh people had yet to receive their second shot of the vaccine.
