Employees of GVK-EMRI, who had been on an indefinite strike since September 5 last, suspended their agitation on Tuesday till September 21 next following an appeal by the Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
A report published in the The Assam Tribune quoted sources as saying that a delegation of the employees’ union met the Chief Minister and Health Minister in Dibrugarh on Monday.
The report further quoted a union leader as saying, “We were assured that our demands would be met. At the same time, the Chief Minister and Health Minister appealed to us to withdraw our agitation. We will wait for the outcome of the proposed meeting scheduled for September 21 next. If our grievances are not addressed, we will resume our agitation from September 22.”
Meanwhile, the employees of the emergency response service would resume work from 8 am on Wednesday. The employees are protesting violation of labour laws by the company.
Earlier, the All Assam 108 Mrityunjoy Employees Association alleged that the Hyderabad-based GVK-EMRI has been flouting norms to make “maximum profit”. It alleged the company has been giving false assurances and threatens to dismiss the employees on the slightest pretext. It also questioned the role of the Assam Government as “instead of looking into the employees’ allegations and demands”, it slapped the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) on the service and robbed them of the right to protest against “injustice”.
The association earlier said GVK-EMRI had not got the service rules certified by the Labour Department. It said after it brought the discrepancy to light, the department recently certified the service rules under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. But the new service rules are yet to come into effect even after eight months, it said.