With 108 employees boycotting duties during the evening after working eight hours a day, EMRI authorities have initiated talks with other states to press in additional staff if required.
The workers have been protesting 12-hour shifts and have demanded job security, increase in salary and are also demanding that the publicprivate partnership be stopped. While on Saturday, 34 workers skipped work, on Sunday 86 workers did not turn up to work.
“EMRI has been forcing employees of 108 ambulance service to work for 12 hours which is against the labour laws.
We are not paid salaries as per work hours and also the salaries have not been paid in time for the last couple of months. We had given a strike notice to the concerned authorities on July 24 but there was no response from any quarter,” said Ashok Palle, state president of the Telangana State 108 Employees’ Union.
The union has threatened to further intensify the strike after August 15 by boycotting duties completely and has said that the Telangana government and the GVK EMRI management are liable for any inconvenience caused.