The GVK EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Institute), which runs the 108 and 102 ambulance services in Himachal Pradesh has terminated the services of 63 striking employees.

However, despite the strict move on July 1, the ambulance union continued with its strike demanding cancelation of the MoU inked between the state government and GVK EMRI for running the ambulance service and bringing the service under the purview of National Health Mission (NHM).

GVK EMRI employees have been on strike since last week. Ambulance drivers and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who provide pre-hospital care to patients are accusing the organisation of not paying them enough for the long hours they keep. They have demanded that ambulance workers be covered under a government policy, as in Haryana, to ensure they work only for eight hours. GVK EMRI state head Mehul Sukumar said, "We have terminated (services of) 63 ambulance employees. We still request the striking employees to return to work. If they do not do so, we will be left with no option but to take strict action against them too."

"The company had already sent several notices to striking employees even through advertisement in local newspapers to stop the agitation and return to work but to no avail so far. We had to take the decision of termination of 63 ambulance employees as last resort," he had said. Sukumar claimed that at present, 191 of its 198 ambulances in the state are operating. However the head of the ambulance employee union Pooran Chand said, "Several of the 198 ambulances were declared unfit to ply on roads, so the question of running 191 ambulances is nothing but a lie."

He said termination of services of the 63 ambulance staff is to spread terror in the minds of the striking employees. "We will continue our strike despite their termination till our demand of bringing the 108 ambulances service under the purview of the National Health Mission (NHM) is met," Chand had said.

A delegation of the striking ambulance employees met Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur yesterday and submitted a memorandum to him demanding cancellation of MoU with GVK EMRI and bringing ambulance services under the purview of the NHM. Chand on July 1 said that they would intensify their agitation of the government fails to heed to their demands within 48 hours. The state government already imposed Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) in 11 out of total 12 districts of the state.