Ambulance staff call off stir

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 12

After being on strike for two days (including today until evening), the 108 Ambulance Driver Employees Association called off their strike at 6 pm on Thursday evening.

As many as 1,200 ambulance drivers across the state had been on a strike since Wednesday to press for their demands, including the reinstatement of terminated employees. After the termination of over 30 employees of the union following their strike on Wednesday, ambulance drivers extended their strike by a day, refusing to ply ambulances in the state.

However, the employees called off the strike after receiving an assurance from the government that their demands will be met by July 23.

While 108 ambulance drivers observed a statewide strike, suspending services for 12 hours on Wednesday, they also remained on a strike till the evening on Thursday. They called it off after they were assured that over 30 terminated employees will be reinstated and their demands would be met. The assurance was accorded by Varun Roojam of Healthcare Private Limited, the company that runs the ambulance services in the state, to them this afternoon.

While the ambulance service has 19 ambulances in the district and employs 74 drivers, district president of the association Amandeep Singh said: “We have been assured that the terminated employees will be reinstated. While we will be meeting the MD of the company on July 23, we have cancelled the strike for now, from this evening onwards.”

“While so far, we believe the demands will be met. We will resume the strike if the government fails to keep its promises,” Singh said.

The primary demands of the association include their duty hours be reduced from 12 hours to eight hours, pending increments and interest for the past four years be released and implemented, equal work equal pay provision be implemented, EMTs should be re-designated as EMTs rather than ambulance managers, the post on which they are currently deputed.

Other demands included payment of salaries to be made from 1 to 7 every month, recent transfers and terminations be withdrawn, 36 employees dismissed in 2014 be immediately reinstated.