“Ambulance 108” vans off the roads: workers on strike

24.04.10 Mangalore : The Health cover “108” Ambulance units personnel in Mangalore, about 80, with 19 special ambulance units pilots and nurses in these vehicles, went off the roads in a lightning strike on Saturday at D.C. Office Mangalore, asking the Health Department and the state government to fulfil their urgent demands.

One Sharanabasappa (EMT) working in Bijapur district in the medical “108 Ambulance” units is stated to have attempted suicide, following harassment and ill treatment from his superiors, HRD Officers Shilpa and Jaya Prakash during this month, and his colleagues have called the state wide strike of all “108 Ambulance” units. The strike is billed as an “indefinite strike” until the Ambulance Workers’ demands are fully met.

Among the basic important demands made by the strikers the following are on urgent basis:

a)      The entire medical treatment expenses and health-care of Sharanabasappa in Bijapur should be borne by the Health Department/ Ambulance unit, or the government to see that he recovers early. He is in an intensive care unit at present, fighting for his life.

b)      He was forced to resign, and suspended on refusal. Similar cases of Ambulance workers should be examined and the poor condemned medical care personnel should return to work, and their salaries unpaid so far should be paid to them.

c)      The government should cancel the “outside contracting” system, and manage the health care units entirely by itself.

d)      The employees should be kept on duty nearer hometowns, rather than send them away to distant places to work.

e)      A pilot (driver) of “108 Ambulance” van, namely Y.S. Araligidad, had died in an accident, and no compensation or relief in cash was paid by the concerned company involved in the accident to the bereaved family so far. Such relief fund should be made available immediately to the family of the dead pilot, from the offenders.

There were 8 more demands related to official accommodation, hours of work, monthly salaries, holidays etc.

The district general secretary C.I.T.U. is reported to have visited the place near DC’s office, where these local (D.K) Ambulance workers are on strike, and asked them to join C.I.T.U. for an effective solution to their present grievances.