Closure notice served to GVK; govt issues tender

SHILLONG, Aug 6: The state government has served the closure notice to GVK EMRI and tenders have been floated for a new partner.
“The agreement was over long ago but we had extended the services during COVID. We terminated GVK’s services last week,” a senior health official said on Saturday. He said that the closure notice will take some time to come into effect. “Temporary arrangement is being made before we find a new partner,” he added. “We are looking for people interested in working as emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and drivers, who form the major chunk of the workforce. We will give preference to those who have already worked with EMRI,” the official said.
Pointing out that the GVK employees are not government staff, he said: “They will be with us for the temporary arrangement. When the new partner comes, we will tell them to give preference to those who have already worked with GVK.”
In an advertisement, the office of the state Mission Director for the National Health Mission invited applications from willing candidates to be recruited on a temporary basis for three months.
The temporary jobs include the post of EMT (paramedics) and driver.
The Meghalaya EMRI Workers’ Union (MEMRIWU) went on an indefinite strike on July 18, demanding the regularisation of the workers and the termination of the services with GVK EMRI.
A GVK EMRI executive had earlier said they served the people of Meghalaya for more than 13 years and attended to more than 3 lakh emergencies with at least 30,000 lives saved and more than 2,500 deliveries assisted. He also said only 0.3% of the calls have been unattended probably because of multiple calls landing at the same time.