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Employees of the 108 ambulance service on Wednesday launched a statewide strike in Odisha alleging unfair pay and job loss, among other issues.
As per reports, the agitating employees claimed that they were not being provided equal pay for equal work, as well as gratuity and other benefits.
To protest, the 108 ambulance staff have decided to disable GPS tracking while continuing patient services as part of their protest strategy. It is feared that the GPS tracking feature may cause potential disruptions in emergency medical services across the state.
Meanwhile, the impact of the agitation is already being felt in Angul district, where employees have pledged to escalate their demonstration.
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They alleged that they are facing job losses and pay disparity after a change in the company that manages the 108 ambulance services in Odisha. Additionally, a special relief package announced by the previous BJD government has also not been handed out to them yet.
“The new company fired 96 employees, who were leaders of the employee union, all across the state. Thus, our first demand is the restoration of their jobs,” stated one of the protesting ambulance employees in Angul.
He also claimed that they were being given less pay despite working greater hours than the stipulated. As such, their second demand was fair pay, and also grant of gratuity as well as the promised special package.
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The protesting employees stated that the protest would continue, with GPS systems remaining off until their grievances were addressed.
