Women volunteers of Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme seek job permanency, higher pay

TIRUNELVELI: Women Health Volunteers (WHV) of the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme submitted a petition with District Collector Dr KP Karthikeyan, demanding job permanency, increase in salary, and reduction in workload, during the grievance redressal meeting held here on Monday.

The petition submitted by nearly 100 WHVs from across the district highlighted that around 200 WHVs have been serving under the scheme, since the Covid-19 pandemic, to identify non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes among rural populations. Despite their critical role, the WHVs alleged that they are burdened with excessive tasks beyond their job description and are being paid a meagre Rs 5,500 as salary, inclusive of travel allowances.

The volunteers stated that they often use personal two-wheelers to transport medical supplies to remote villages as public transport is inadequate, resulting in significant out-of-pocket expenses for fuel. They added that they were recently assigned additional responsibilities, including identifying infectious diseases and collecting biological specimens, such as sputum samples for tuberculosis diagnosis.