The emergency and ambulance services by GVK EMRI (Emergency Management and Research Institute) will resume in Meghalaya.
This came after a meeting convened by Meghalaya health minister with the management of the GVK EMRI and its employees at the Secretariat in Shillong on Friday evening.
After the meeting, Hek informed, “Now no more problems are there between the employees and the GVK EMRI.”
“They have all agreed to resume their duties and the management has also taken a call to re-start the service in the state,” he added.
Emergency services by the company have been disrupted after its employees resorted to a series of agitations for two months.
GVK EMRI state head, Deepankar Choudhury said that during the meeting, all issues brought up by the field employees were addressed and resolved.
The pre-termination notice served by the state government to the company has also become null and void.
On the demand of the employees to hike their salary, Choudhury said, “This has been taken care of and agreed upon by both the parties.”
“The agreement has been arrived at, that there will be a basic hike of 10 per cent and overall increment of 10 per cent,” he added.
When asked how long it will take to resume the ambulance service, he said that the ambulances will go out now in a phased manner because they have been down for the last two months.
“We have already been repairing some of the ambulances. As and when they are ready, they will go up and subsequently start the services.,” he said.
“Our priority will be as soon as possible we will try and get all the 43 locations up in the next two to three days,” he added.
On being asked if the agitating employees’ salaries deducted, he said, “We expressed this issue before the health minister and the employees have also appealed that if some relief can be given.”
“The minister has assured to take a call, and will come to a compromise formula where either the organisation or the employees should not suffer,” he added.
Meghalaya EMRI Workers Union president, R. Kharraswai informed that the employees would resume their duty immediately.
On the government’s inability to take over and run the emergency services, Kharraswai said this demand will stand and it will continue as the contract between the government and GVK EMRI will end in 2021.
“We hope the government will find ways and means to fulfil our demand that it should take over the emergency service,” Kharraswai said.
“We have never said that GVK EMRI should go or tell the government to bring in another company because we know the problems of the employees will continue,” Kharraswai added.
“I also tender my apology to the public, but we cannot blame ourselves because we were forced to go for agitation after our demands were not earlier taken seriously,” Kharraswai added.