108 ambulance service back on track

Employees of 108 Arogya Kavacha will resume work at 8 am on Friday, GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK-EMRI) said.

A memo submitted to the Karnataka High Court by GVK-EMRI on Thursday stated the ambulance workers promised to meet the conditions of the employment after a meeting with representatives of the state government on August 14.

The company submitted that it will release the PF amount pending since 2010 to its employees. Also, a 24/7 complaint cell will be set up to hear the grievances of the employees. The salaries of the employees will also be revised. In addition,  the 194 employees, who were sacked, will get back their jobs. These employees will be employed without any discrimination in the larger interest, it         added.

The state government, in its memo,  stated that a meeting has been arranged between GVK-EMRI and its employees in the presence of the health minister to solve the issues faced by the staff of Arogya Kavacha and a decision will be taken.

Following the submission by the state government and GVK-EMRI, a division bench comprising Justices K L Manjunath and Ravi V Malimath disposed of a PIL filed by Dr Kodur Venkatesh of Arise India Foundation, an NGO which had sought a direction to the Health and Family Welfare Department and the private firm to ensure the immediate restoration of ambulance services. The service was affected since July 26 owing to the employee strike.