Ambulance services hit in HP as workers protest for better perks

Shimla: The ambulance services across Himachal Pradesh were hit on Monday as 108 and 102 ambulance workers went on a five-day strike in support of their demand for better salaries and employee benefits.More than 500 ambulance workers also held a demonstration here and raised slogans against the Himachal Pradesh govt and the company hired by the health department to run the ambulance services in the state.The protesting employees alleged that the company had not been paying them minimum wages as ordered by various courts, including the Himachal Pradesh high court.They also demanded that the colleagues, who were transferred or sacked by the company, should be reinstated, and that the company be blacklisted."An ambulance worker gets a salary of Rs 11,700 and is made to work for more than 12 hours a day. The employees don't get any benefits and have no leaves. To top it, they are also threatened with transfers and sacking by the company. This company must be blacklisted," said Balak Ram Sharma, a leader of the Ambulance Employees' Union."If our demands are not met, we will continue with our protests," Sharma added.While the 108 ambulance service is for medical emergencies, including accidents and health emergencies, the 102 ambulance service focuses on helping pregnant women and infants. There are around 1,300 ambulance employees in the state.Normal life disrupted in Kangra (Box)Normal life was disrupted in Kangra district, where hundreds of commercial vehicle operators blocked roads to protest against the Automated Testing Station (ATS), which has been established at Gahlian. The strike impacted the movement of taxis, autos, trucks and private buses across the district. Many private schools in Kangra also remained closed as school buses did not operate. The ATS was established earlier this year with an aim to provide automated fitness certification to vehicles in less time, but commercial vehicle operators are opposing it due to higher testing fees and the fear that old vehicles would be rejected due to stricter automatic testing.MSID:: 130060988 413 |