The two primary ambulance services, 102 (delivery of pregnant women) and 108 (emergency services), have been stalled in Uttar Pradesh as the strike by ambulance staff continues for the third consecutive day in many parts of the state including Lucknow as on Wednesday. Soon after a change in the company that operates the advanced life support system (ALS) ambulances, workers started their strike.
The workers are apprehending that they would lose jobs as the new company is starting its recruitment process. In the state, the ALS, 108 and 102 ambulance services were operated by GVK EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Institute) so far. But, now the responsibility of the ALS ambulance service has been given to Ziqitsa Health Care, which had bagged the tender to run 250 ALS ambulances in UP.
As the workers continued their protest, the state government registered an FIR against 11 ambulance workers and GVK EMRI sacked 3,000 ambulance staff.
Sunil Sachan, leader of Ambulance Employees Union said, “Ambulance workers have agreed to start emergency services. Eleven emergency ambulances are plying on road in Lucknow. We do not want to cause trouble to the common man. There is a crisis in our lives. After a new company got the contract for ALS, many workers have been sacked. What should we do? We are holding strikes to force the government to accept our demands.”
Sachan said that ambulance workers should be given a job guarantee. “Even after working for 10 years and providing services, workers are being sacked. Amid Covid-19 pandemic, the government called us warriors and now they are firing us from jobs,” he added.
Around 10,000 ambulance workers are on strike in the state demanding payment of outstanding honorarium, against the sacking of workers and hiring for new staff by Ziqitsa Health Care.
Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesperson Dr Anurag Bhadauria said that the government should consider the demands of the ambulance workers sympathetically and solve the whole matter soon.
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