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Emergency services in Uttarakhand affected following workers’ strike
Over 700 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and pilots (drivers) of 108 emergency ambulances as well as KKS went on strike from Wednesday morning in all 13 districts of Uttarakhand.
Uttarakhand’s 108 emergency services and ‘Khushiyon Ki Sawari’ (KKS) service were severely affected as the workers on Wednesday went on strike over delay in salary.
Over 700 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and pilots (drivers) of 108 emergency ambulances as well as KKS went on strike from Wednesday morning in all 13 districts of the state. Operated by GVK EMRI, the state has 139 emergency ambulances and 95 vans for KKS.
“We never get our salary on time. The salary is given after three to four months. Since we work on minimum wages, it gets very difficult for us to sustain our families,” said Vipin Chandra Jamloki, state secretary of 108 Khushiyon Ki Sawari field Karamchari Sangh.
“We want a bond which states that our salaries will be given to us by the fifth of each month. Also, since we have no fixed working hours, we want overtime and our basic salary should be fixed as per the rules of labour department. A committee should also be made through which we can raise our concerns,” Jamloki said.
He said the workers have been continuously requesting GVK EMRI and the state government to meet these demands for the last two years but have got no response from either.
“We had also given a letter to GVK and the state government on December 17 where we had written that if our demands are not met, we will go on strike from January 2. Neither were our demands met nor did anyone from the government even agree to have a dialogue with us. As a result, we had to take this step,” Jamloki said.
State head of GVK EMRI 108 said around 85 percent of the state’s emergency services were affected by the strike. “We are trying to bring this figure down to 50 percent and have sought the government’s help for the same. We have asked the government to provide us with drivers at district level. We have also requested our counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh to give us working hands. They are sending a few hundred people,” GVK EMRI’s state head Manish Tinkoo said.
Tinkoo said hiring process for drivers has also begun and the EMTs for back up have also been put into service. “We will send out a notice of termination to those who do not join back within the next 24 hours. If despite that they do not join, we will fire as many people as required,” Tinkoo said.
Calling the strike illegal, Tinkoo said, “There is already a case under way in the high court regarding the charter of demands they have raised. The matter is awaiting decision. They are just trying to blackmail us, the government and people of Uttarakhand.”
Asked about the strike, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said, “They (workers) are not state government employees. The emergency service is being run by a private agency. We have received complaints regarding delay in payments from the workers before as well, and we will look into the matter.”
