Bhubaneswar: As many as 900 members of 108 Ambulance Association will go for a cease work from Friday midnight demanding fulfillment of their seven-point charter of demands.
"Despite repeated requests to look into our demands, the state government has failed to pay any heed forcing us to go on strike from midnight today," said a member of the association.
"We have requested the government to fulfill our demands. But instead of doing that, the government invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on the 108 ambulance workers and threatened to take stringent action against those who participate in the strike," he added.
In January, the workers of 108 ambulance service submitted a memorandums to the Chief Minister and district collectors. On February 2, the workers of the emergency service again submitted a memorandum to the chief minister, health minister and district collectors.
Following this, on February 9, the state government issued a notice invoking ESMA for102 and 108 ambulance services.