Workers of the 104 and 108 ambulance services issued a strike notice to Minister of Health, Family Welfare and Medical Education Vidadala Rajini and other officials of the Health Department on January 8 (Monday), demanding that the promises made by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to them before the 2019 elections be fulfilled.
A.V. Nageswara Rao, president of the 108, 104 and Thalli Bidda Express Workers’ Union, affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), said a common demand across the three sections is that they be made part of the Andhra Pradesh Corporation of Outsourced Services, a promise that the Chief Minister had made to the workers before the 2019 elections.
“At present, they all come under a private owner (Aurobindo Emergency Medical Services). We are not asking for a pay hike or even regularisation of services. We are only demanding that those working in 108, 104 and Thalli Bidda Express be made part of APCOS, so that they have job security,” Mr. Nageswara Rao said.
Recently, the State government announced that there are requirement for the posts of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), who work in 108 ambulances. “They give first aid to a person involved in accidents and administer medicines too. Some of them have been working here for the last 18 years. They cleared no professional course, but came with specialised training. Since there is no relevant course in the State, the government is intent on recruiting people for the posts from other States. We demand that the posts be given to them,” Mr. Nageswara Rao said.
He said they have explained their issues to the officials, and would go on a strike from January 24.
